A New Life
by DarkAzura09
Summary: A girl is coming for the first time at Ikeboukouro for a new start away from her past. She will meet all of the kind of characters in this city. She will try to make her freedom worth it and maybe even find a love interest. But both of them will cost her. Will a human-lover love a monster? IzayaxOC, Extra Action/Adventure/Hurt, lemon, violence,dark themes etc.(Under Heavy Editing)
1. Chapter 1 - Arrival At Ikebukuro

**Hello everyone! Welcome to my new story!**

 **IMPORTANT**

 **This is story is under heavy editing, until the chapter 12 is uploaded. Please keep in mind that after the editing many things will be different.**

 ***I don't own Durarara!***

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 1**

 **Arrival At Ikebukuro**

A girl got out of a black car with no plates at the edge of Ikebukuro, at a highway. She took her bag out of the car and bowed deeply to the driver, thanking him for driving her there. He just waved at her and left as quickly as they arrived. The girl looked at the car leaving and turned around towards the part of the city at the base of the hill. It was night by the time she had arrived, and the sky was dark but full of stars.

"Thank god it's summer..." the girl murmured while walking down the hill to enter Ikebukuro. Based on her information, Ikebukuro was the best part of Tokyo to blend in. She had decided to enter confidently into the new city and the new life that was waiting for her, but she could feel her heart beat like crazy. She was both excited and terrified. It was too good to be true after all. At least for now.

She reached her jean's back pocket and took out a piece of paper with a name written on it. It was the name of a hotel where she could spend the night and get any kind of help. Her _boss_ had given it to her. He was one of the very few people she actually trusted. She put the paper back and moved her bag's handlers to a better position on her shoulder. Unfortunately, she didn't manage to get many things with her. The only things she had with was her id, glasses, climbing equipment(ropes and stuff), a family picture, some clothes and some money from her family which she decided to save for later.

At some point she found herself bathed with the lights of the Ikebukuro's streets. Now that she was under the lights someone could see a girl with long black hair in a braid and two washed out eyes colored dark blue. She looked amazed around her. People were walking down the street, laughing, talking, crying out loud about their day or their jobs. There were shops and restaurants all over the place. She felt drunk from the city's nightlife. She continued to walk around and move with the wave of people passing by until she arrived in front of a restaurant. There was a tall, dark skin guy who was waving leaflets around.

"Sushi! Sushi is good! Sushi gives you strength!"

The girl stopped walking and stared at him moving around his hand and body in coordination and smiling delightfully at the people, who were ignoring him. She giggled at the fact that he wouldn't care about it and continued to shout.

"We have a discount today! Half the prize! Sushi!"

That announcement attracted her attention. The man noticed her looking at him, and he approached her smiling.

"Hey, girl! You seem hungry. Want some sushi?"

"Good sir. It's true. I am hungry. But I don't have enough for such a luxurious meal." She said with an honest smile on her face. She bowed and made a move to leave, but the man stopped her. He shined her a smiled and pushed her into the restaurant instead. He sat her in front of the counter, spoke to the old man behind it in Russian and left waving at her. The old man looked at the girl and studied her. The girl just stared at him with an empty look. It seems that having people stare at her wasn't making her uncomfortable. After some time he smiled and started to prepare food.

"Sir-" The girl wanted to know what was going on.

"You aren't from here, right?" The old man asked curiously. The girl didn't answer but just stared at him. "Hm… you are from Yogsai-City, right?" He continued with a straight, cold expression on his face but whispering this time. The girl's stare became harder on him. The old man understood that he was right. He signed and put some food in front of her.

"It must be hard for you. Here. Today in on the house." He placed a plate with sushi in front of her.

The girl's expression became softer as she moved her eyes from the Russian chef to the food.

"Sir? You know about Yogsai-City?" She asked almost whispering.

"Yes… it's a sad city. I have a friend there. His name is Din. He is an underground doctor. You know him?"

"If I talk to you, will that stay between us?"

"Yes."

The girl remained thoughtful for a while. Well, he already knew about Yogsai-City, and he also knew Din as well. Very few know about his underground activity out of Yogsai-City. Now that she was thinking about it, Din looked like the old man in front of her. Both old, pale with an empty yet severe stare.

"I do know him. He is a very good man. Russian. I guess you are Russian too?"

"Yes. My name is Dennis."

"My name is…," the girl stopped and looked at the bag next to her for a few seconds, "Cecilia..." she finally answered.

"Hm… that is your new name, huh?"

The girl nodded in response.

"You picked a nice name. But it's such a shame to give up your identity." The chef signed sadly.

"Anyone who is leaving that city is bound to change their names afterward for safety." She explained to him painfully.

"Don't worry I won't ask about your old name. It would be dangerous… for both of us, right?"

"Right." the girl smiled at him. She was relieved that he understood her situation. It was a nice thing to feel. That way he would also stay safe. Fewer responsibilities and guilt. She had enough already. Her real name, must not be known.

"Oh, master! You made her smile!" The dark man reappeared behind them.

"Cecilia, this is Simon. He knows Din, too." Dennis introduced his employ and a good friend to the girl.

"Oh! You know Din? Then you must be here to start a new life, ne?" Simon asked enthusiastically, a little too loudly making Cecilia look around her worried. Once she made sure that nobody bothered to look at them, she turned to the two men.

"I would like to ask you to keep it a secret, my hometown, and everything. Just think that I am from Kyoto or something like that. Or else it would be troublesome for me!"

The two Russians looked at each other and smiled at her 'ok.' Simon left again to continue his job and Dennis went back to his cooking. Cecilia took the chopsticks and started to eat her meal slowly, enjoying every bite. It had been a long time since she had tasted something so good and rich like that, for free and in peace. She really wished her family would be with her. They would really love this place...

'No time for this...' She shook her head to keep away the bad thoughts and kept on eating. Once she finished with her meal, she started to get her things together to leave, but before that, she had to make a question.

"Ne… Dennis-san? How did you know about me?" If he managed to know about her being from Yogsai-City she had to know what to do so she won't be recognized like that again. The old man looked at her smirking.

"Lot's of other kids like you have come in this city. Others to start a new life here, others to continue to another city. They all had the same look on their faces."

The girl was taken aback and touched her face unconsciously.

"They were cold, but you could see in their eyes the desire to be free." He continued.

"The desire… to be free... Hard to hide it then..." Cecilia replied like she was talking to herself and got up. "Thank you for your kindness! I will repay you for this someday!" She bowed deeply to Dennis to thank him for the free meal.

"You don't need to. Just keep in mind that you are welcomed here anytime and for anything you want. Don't be a stranger during hard times. And before you go, a little advice. Knowing people of all kinds is good for your survival in this city. Have a good stay."

"Thank you, sir!"

The girl bowed again and walked towards the door. She almost hit with her bag a blond girl who was just coming in.

"Oh, Varona. You finished your job?" Dennis asked the blond Russian newcomer.

"Affirmative! I am done for today!" The girl replied tired.

"Good job."

By the end of their conversation, Cecilia was already out of the restaurant. She was really amazed by the beauty of the blonde girl she just saw. Or maybe slightly jealous? Maybe both. She stood out of the door and looked inside one more time, but she couldn't see the girl anymore, so she started to walk away.

"Oh, you are leaving already? Did you like the sushi?" Simon asked her when he saw her coming towards him.

"Yes. It was delicious! I will definitely come again, and next time I will pay!" She smiled full of confidence.

"Oh, so where are you going now?"

"Ah… here!" The girl took the piece of paper out of her pocket and gave it to Simon. Luckily for her Simon was familiar with the hotel, so he gave her detailed instructions for her to arrive there quickly and safely. They said their goodbyes and Cecilia left. She followed Simon's path, and in a few minutes, she found the hotel with the name it was written in her note.

"Welcome to 'New Life'!" A beautiful blond woman welcomed Cecilia with a warm smile once she stepped inside.

"Are you Saya-san?" Cecilia asked her unsure. _Boss_ had told her that the owner was a woman named Saya and that she would help her. The woman blinked and immediately screamed.

"Oh! You must be Cecilia that _boss_ told me about! Welcome welcome! I know everything about you, so you don't need to say anything! I have been in your place too you know! Come, follow me! I have your room ready!" The blond woman jumped to the front of her desk happily and dragged Cecilia with her to the third floor of the hotel. They walked down the hallway until the last door.

"This will be your room! You can stay here as long as you want until you find your own place to live! So feel free! I won't charge you with anything!"

" But-"

"No, but! Boss' friends are my friends! Also, breakfast is served every day from 8 to 11. Feel free to join me! Good night!" The owner blurred cheerfully and closed the door behind her leaving Cecilia alone smiling at the door. Having such a cheerful welcome was something that could warm one's cold and apathetic heart.

Cecilia left her bag on the floor, next to the bed and looked around her. The room had a big bed in the middle, a desk at the right, a small wardrobe at the left, a big window which was looking at the street in front of the hotel at the opposite side of the bed and its own bathroom. Cecilia opened the wardrobe to find some towels so she could take a shower. After so many hours of traveling, she really needed one. In the end, she filled the bathtub with warm water and let her self-dive in instead.

"So warm..."

She could feel the warm water lick her body slowly as she was diving in it and let all the tiredness come out of her body. It had been so long. The last time she had taken a warm bath was… yeah, a long time ago. She looked around her. The bathroom was lovely, and there was a window on the wall in front of her. From there she could see the stars.

Stars…

She had never seen stars. The skies of her hometown were always black and polluted by the factories. She started to count them happily until she saw the moon. She stared at it like being in another world, and she began to like this world. A world of freedom away from hell.

Hell…

Freedom…

"To be free, you must pay the price…" She murmured as she dived deeper into the water.

Sometime later she decided that it was time for her to get out and dry herself so she could sleep early and get up earlier. The breakfast sounded like a pretty good deal. She wore some pajamas she found in the wardrobe and returned to her bag.

"I will have to get my own stuff eventually..." she smiled sadly and started to get things out. One of them was a family photo. She placed the picture next to her bed looked outside the window at the moon once more and returned to her bed.

"Goodnight everyone! Wish me luck..."

* * *

 **Thank you very much for reading! See ya next chapter! ^^ Please review!**


	2. Chapter 2 - I Met The Two Monsters

**Hi! Hi! Hi! Welcome back to another chapter of my story! Thanks for reading my story! I hope you enjoy it!**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 2**

 **I Met The Two Monsters**

The next morning Cecilia woke up brutally because of a nightmare she had.

" It's only the first day, and I have nightmares? What the hell." She complained as she threw the sheets off her annoyed. Being scared was ok, not being able to sleep was not. Rest was something important.

She got dressed and got down for breakfast. The only good thing that the nightmare did was to wake her up early at 8. Saya was so excited to see her that she offered her a huge plate, full of food for breakfast. Cecilia smiled awkwardly as she looked down on her plate. She couldn't eat that much.

"I know that you aren't used at eating a lot, but you keep in mind that from now on you will be eating regularly! Plus you need to gain some weight! You are so skinny! How did you survive there for so long?"

"Um...i guess I was lucky… " Cecilia smile awkwardly.

"Of course you were! Eat up! Eat up!" Saya smiled warmly and kept counting Cecilia's bites. Very comfortable for Cecilia, that's for sure. "So while you are eating, I will tell you some things about the city so pay attention! FIRST! The best sushi in this part of Tokyo is the Russian sushi so go there sometime. SECOND! You have to stay away from some people. The first one is named Orihara Izaya and the second one is Heiwajima Shizuo. Those two are very dangerous guys. Izaya is an information broker and a big manipulator. Shizuo is a crazy strong guy who can even lift a track!" Cecilia almost choked on her food. " You will recognize them as they are always fighting each other. I don't know why but it seems like they hate each other! You know last year they had this huge fight, and they both ended pretty badly wounded! They say that Shizuo's girlfriend stabbed Izaya. Oh, such love!" The owner said dreamy and continued. "THIRD! This is something like a secret, but there is a famous underground doctor, name Kishitani Shinra. He is an excellent doctor and like you and me and the rest that came here and has second names, we can't just go to the hospital. So you better go talk to him one day. Tell him that I send you! And LAST! There is also the headless rider! And when I said headless, I mean it! He doesn't have a head! There is smock coming out of his neck! It's amazing! I don't know about him. But you better be cautious around him."

'A monster? Wow.' Cecilia thought as she placed her chopsticks on the table.

Saya kept babbling and giving more info trying to make her new friend as comfortable as possible. She managed to get out of that wrecked city alive after all, so she deserved it. Once Saya finished her lecture Cecilia was able to ask some questions herself.

"About that information broker you told me. What else do we know about him?"

The owner looked at her with a weird look, but at the end, she answered her question. "Well, it is known that he has two sisters. Crazy those two and twins. Also, he is well known for having connections with the yakuza. Dangerous things. Also, he likes to play with other people's lives, so stay away from him at any cost!"

This last sentence kept echoing at Cecilia's head while she was wandering around Ikebukuro, after breakfast, looking for a job. If she wanted to get her own place and leave the hotel, she needed cash and asap. "According to Saya-san, I could find a job by reading a newspaper… " She looked around to find a store or something where she could get one, but she didn't find anything in the next 30 minutes of walking until she finally noticed one paper sitting alone under a tree. She hurried and took it, ignoring the fact, that right next to it, was its owner sleeping. She walked away like a cat, without a sound, and disappeared into the crowd.

"Too easy… let's see… they need a cashier… nope...walk out dogs? I hate dogs… shooter? Nuh, I am no good with long distance guns… an assistant at the TV station? Fuck no! Too dangerous..." She kept checking the column for jobs until she threw the paper away as nothing was in her taste. But she didn't lose hope, so she decided to look again on another paper. Until noon she had read like five to seven different papers, but there was no job which she could be at a high place and not be seen too much by others. She started to feel depressed until she listened to two people talking behind her in a somber tone yet having a heated conversation.

"Boss! I can't go alone! I am afraid of heights, and that guy just quit! And it's getting dark too! I am not going there alone!" Said the younger of the two men. He was wearing a full body cloth, dark blue and was holding a bucket. The other man was much older, short, fat but his face was kind.

"Oh my, oh my… now what? I don't have anyone else available today, and this client is one of our best clients! What are we going to do?" That old man was in distress. Then Cecilia broke into the conversation so naturally that you would think she was already part of it all the time.

"I am not afraid of heights, and I am currently looking for a job. Should I go with him instead?" Her tone was serious and professional but also kind and offering. The older guy looked at her with a desperate expression.

"Are you available now?" He asked with some hope. Cecilia nodded. "You are hired! Kotarou take her to get changed into the right clothes and go to the client immediately. Oh yeah! Your name?"

"I am Kendo, Kendo Cecilia. Nice to meet you."

"Oh, nice to meet you too! My name is Aida Akihiro. I am the owner of the cleaning company 'Fast and Clean.' That guy here is Asari Kotarou."

"Nice to meet you Kendo-san," Kotarou said kindly.

"And about your payment. You will get paid with every client." The owner continued.

"O-ok…"

"Now go to work!"

Cecilia bowed and followed Kotarou to the company's building to get dressed and informed about the job's responsibilities. Once ready she followed Kotarou to the client's house. Kotarou was a guy at his 25, married with a kid. He was working to support his family. According to him, this job was paying good so he could support his family. That warmed Cecilia's heart. According to Kotarou, their job was to clean everything and everywhere without asking any kind of questions. They would clean from houses and office buildings to murder scenes and battlefields between yakuza groups.

"That sounds amusing, but aren't you afraid for your family?" She asked concerned. Doing dangerous jobs to feed your family was a common thing in Yogsai-City.

"No as long as I smile and follow orders, and of course keep my mouth shut. By the way, have you ever heard about our client?"

"No."

"Ah! Let me tell you then! Orihara Izaya is one of our best clients. He has also suggested us to many of our current clients. He is an information broker, you know, he sells information. He also works for Yakuza. Now, this is a dangerous job. But himself, in general… he is a dangerous person. You don't want _him as_ your enemy."

"I see…"

Cecilia stopped talking from that moment and let Kotarou talk alone. She didn't really want to talk but kept in mind all the info her partner gave her freely. She liked chatty characters. They talk without understanding the value of the information they give. Unfortunately, many of them end up dead, for that exact reason. Regardless Kotarou just went on and on about previous jobs of his this time. He didn't stop talking until they found themselves out of Izaya's apartment. They rang the bell, and the door was answered by a young, attractive woman with long black hair and a cold expression on her face.

"Hello hello hello! We are from 'Fast and Clean'! We came to clean as requested by Mr. Orihara. We may come in?" Kotarou asked with a bright smile as the woman allowed him to enter the house with Cecilia following him.

'Really… how much do they pay him to act like that?' The girl mentally questioned herself. 'I hope a lot because this was embarrassing.' She smirked and started to examine the apartment. It was a huge one. It made her wonder how was this even possible?

"Ok. Here are the keys. So do your job!" Said the woman who had opened the door for them and left. Cecilia didn't even bother to look at her or say goodbye. She was absorbed by the beauty of the apartment.

"Cecilia-san! You can explore the house while cleaning it." Kotarou joked and threw her a cloth to use.

In a couple of hours, the whole house was as good as new. The windows were shining, the furniture looked like new, the floor and the stairs were clean and sparkly, and the whole place was tidy and fresh. Even the bookcase was cleaned. Of course, the windows and the bookcase were cleaned by Cecilia alone as Kotarou was afraid of the heights. The whole reason Cecilia was accepted to do the job. Once they were done, they looked at the house, Cecilia from the top of the stairs and Kotarou from the base.

"Wow! It's gorgeous! Well done!" Said the male worker as he withdrew to the kitchen on the first floor. The girl walked back to the bedroom. The room was huge and spacious. It had a bed in the middle with gray pillows, a big wardrobe at the side and its own bathroom. There was also a balcony from where you could see the city. She felt a little jealous of the guy as she never had her own room in the past. A room like that at least.

"That bed looks so comfy, though." She said to herself, not realizing that she said it out loud.

"It's a nice bed indeed! Wanna try it?" A deep but playful voice was heard from behind her.

"If you are suggesting us having sex on it, then I am not interested." The girl answered bluntly as she turned around to meet the owner of that sexy voice she just heard.

"Hahaha! I like the reaction." The man answered making the girl raise one of her eyebrows.

"Who are you?" She asked. No emotion in her voice.

"I am Orihara Izaya. The owner of this house. And you?"

"I am Kendo Cecilia. I am here to clean your house."

"Oh! I see I see! You are new, right? I haven't seen you before." The raven asked, being a little interested in the person in front of him, but the playful tone was gone. Also, he got his answer by Kotarou who just entered the room. That didn't amuse him at all, but he swallowed it with a grin.

"Oh, Kotarou! How is your family?" He asked faking his smile, something that Cecilia noticed quite easily.

Kotarou didn't suspect a thing and answered honestly to the owner of the house. Izaya smiled and asked him to go to the kitchen to check something that he wanted to know. Kotarou rushed and left them alone again. Cecilia had still her frozen expression on and waited for him to make a move.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" He asked faking his hurt feelings.

"You are a manipulator as I heard, but I didn't expect you also to be a pervert." She continued with an empty voice, stating the obvious.

"Oh… I am not a pervert, I just like to mess with other people's minds and see their reactions. What can I say! Humans are fascinating." He smiled widely.

'That man is fake. He knows how to fool someone and play with him… just like Saya-san told me… And he didn't take the bite either. He is a smart one. ' Cecilia thought and sighed deeply. She sat on the bed and laid back on it, completely ignoring the man in front of her. She was really tired and didn't feel like playing with him. She closed her eyes for a while and took a deep breath. Izaya was watching her the whole time trying to understand her reasons and actions. He took a step closer to her when suddenly she got up and walked by him leaving him clueless. She really shouldn't do such things to a stranger's house. Where were her manners?

"Hey!" He called her.

"What?" She snapped at him boldly. Izaya was taken aback from the sudden change of personality. She took that chance to escape and kept walking away when Izaya stopped her again.

"Wait-" He started, but Cecilia cut him.

"Mr. Orihara I have a job to do. Please don't waste my time anymore." She wanked his hand off and started to get down the stairs. Izaya stood at the top of them and shouted down at her again. "Hey! You! Work for me!" His face had a creepy smile from ear to ear.

Cecilia stopped and looked at him. "Work for a manipulator who enjoys playing with people, uses his information and lies so he can send them to the wrong path just to see their reactions. No, thank you. Let's go Kotarou?"

Her voice was cold, almost dead but she was straight to the point. For some reason, Izaya had annoyed the shit out of her. Izaya's eyes widened open from her words as he felt his heart beating like crazy. It was like he was in ecstasy.

"How?" Kotarou asked Cecilia while they were walking away.

" You know eyes are the windows of the heart..." The girl said with a sad tone as they entered the elevator. Her heart fell heavy, and an unwanted feeling had sat on her chest.

Meanwhile, Izaya's house was filled with his creepy laugh. He was in the middle of the room spinning around himself satisfied. "That girl… oh, I love humans so much! They never stop to amaze me! hahaha!" He screamed as loud as he could feeling like his heart would explode in any minute. He was excited, and he wanted to play with her so badly.

"That guy… he has lost it..." Namie Yagiri commented when she entered the house and saw him in that crazy state. She ignored him and went to make some tea to relax leaving him in his craziness alone.

* * *

The next morning Cecilia found her self walking down the street to look for an apartment to live in and maybe buy a phone. She needed one so they could reach her from her job. She wondered around Ikebukuro's streets until she found a building still under construction.

"Perfect!"

She approached the building slowly, checked if anyone was around and just started to climb it. Once she reached the roof, she walked at the edge of it and looked around to see if she could continue her travel through the roofs. She could jump, run and travel through the rooftops easily from a young age. She had stopped using the roads like normal people for years now, as in her hometown streets were dangerous. So better be covered as no one would ever think about jumping off from a building to another one, to simply come after you for your money or your life. Life wasn't fair after all.

After some time of inspecting her surroundings, she noticed a lower roof at the right of the current building she was on. She took a deep breath and ran to her fall. She jumped to the other roof, and from there she climbed to the next building and continued like that. That way she could see the city and from another angle.

But the fun didn't last for much time. While she was jumping from roof to roof, she heard a man shouting angrily and then a vending machine appeared in front of her out of the blue. She managed to stop her next jump or else she would fell on it and then to her death.

"What the-?" She looked down shocked and saw a blond guy, dressed like a bartender throwing stuff around. "Are you for real?" She said annoyed and started to climb down the building to where the bartender was. That dude was far from insane.

"Oi! Shizuo! Please calm down!" A dark guy in suit tried to calm down the blond guy.

"Oh… I am sorry-" Shizuo tried to apologize, but an angry Cecilia cut him off.

"Excuse me!" She cried making him turn to her. To her surprise, he was tall and handsome. But she had met many of his kind. She shouldn't fell for his charms. "The vending machine you just threw almost hit me!" She continued in disbelief. Shizuo looked at her surprised and bowed apologizing making Cecilia forget her anger in seconds. She was ready to fight, and she definitely didn't expect him to apologize. She was actually left with her mouth open.

"It's ok… Just don't throw them between buildings. I would be grateful." She said and let him go. She on the hand stood there like an idiot trying to understand what had just happened. Could he be the guy Saya had told her before? The one who can carry a track?

"Oh, you met Shizu-chan! How lucky of you!" A familiar voice was heard right next to her which made her temper raise once again. How could he make her so annoyed? He didn't do anything to her, yet.

"Oh my. Orihara Izaya, right?" She asked with a calm tone.

"The one and only!" The black haired guy jumped in front of her giggling in a victorious manner. He spun around himself once and stopped to face her smirking.

"Are you always acting like you are in the circus?" Cecilia asked unimpressed by his behavior. Izaya didn't flinch but hugged himself with both of his hands and looked at the sky with a hot-mess face.

"Oh! I can't get angry at you! You are human after all! I love all humans equally so even if you hurt me with your words I will still continue to love you! Like you did yesterday!" He explained while moving his body left and right.

'Yes…. He IS annoying! And crazy. Better leave.' Cecilia thought.

"Duuuude. You are so lame! Goodbye." Cecilia said coldly and returned to the building where she had just got off. Izaya stopped his circles and watched her every move. A little after he realized what she was doing, she had climbed the building and was lost in the roofs leaving him smiling to himself. He dialed a number on his cellphone and fled the scene too.

* * *

"Here you go! Thank you for choosing us!"

Cecilia exited the store holding her new phone in her hands. It was black, with a touch screen and shiny. She couldn't stop looking at it. She had fallen in love with it. She immediately climbed to the nearest building and sat to play with it. First, she saved the number from the Russian Sushi Restaurant, then she saved Saya's personal number and email along with the hotel's number and then she saved Kotarou's, her boss's and her job's numbers. She had them all written down in a small notebook in her bag. Once she finished and was satisfied, it was already midday, so she decided to look for a place to stay again.

She didn't have any problem living in the city she just wanted to be in a high place so she could see the city from above. She looked around Ikebukuro, from the streets now, and she found lots of places, but most of them were quite expensive. After some more places, she decided to mail Kotarou her number and pass from her company to give them her contact information. Once done she went to Russian Sushi to eat something.

"Oh! Cecilia! Welcome!" Simon said happily when he saw her entering the restaurant.

" Hi, Simon! Dennis!" The girl said with a smile and sat at the counter in front of the chef. Dennis greeted her with a smile too and started to prepare her order. Cecilia looked around the restaurant to check the rest of the clients. The only ones were a young couple and a gang. The couple was talking cheerfully and feeding each other. The boy had a big build and was looking at the girl like she was his princess. She secretly wished to find someone like that one day and then turned to the girl. She was sitting right next to him, holding his arm and talking non-stop with her light blue eyes always stuck on her boyfriend. She noticed that she had a scar at her neck. It looked painful though. Then she sifted her view to the gang. They were four. Three boys and a girl. One of them was really good looking, and his smile was beautiful. He seemed very happy being with his friend. Next to him was a long haired guy. He was laughing like crazy. At the opposite side were a blond guy and the girl. They both looked like they were in an entirely different world. But the four of them looked so good together.

Cecilia sighed and turned her view to the chef.

"You know... This city has some crazy guys but really handsome ones." She said with a nostalgic tone.

"Like?" the chef asked her amused.

"These days I met two totally different types of people! A crazy guy who says that he loves all human beings and is annoying as fuck and another guy who threw a fucking vending machine in the air, but was very polite too." Said the girl amused by her adventures. She started to like the city a little more.

Dennis smiled and placed her order in front of her.

"You met Izaya and Shizuo, huh? You just can't miss those two. What? Were they fighting again?" the chef asked interested.

"No no. But I would really like to see them fight! I believe it would be a good show."

"It would be yes." The old man agreed and left to take care of the rest of the orders. Cecilia started to eat her food peacefully when the doors of the restaurant opened with force, and a dude entered the restaurant screaming to anyone who was into the restaurant to get down immediately. The chef and Cecilia looked at him annoyed. The man was holding a gun waving it here and there and was wearing a mask to cover his face. Behind him was Simon on the ground with blood coming out of his body. The old man behind the counter said something in Russian and got out of his kitchen next to Cecilia. The young girl with the light brown hair and bright blue eyes jumped next to her boyfriend, and the gang of four was alerted. Cecilia turned around on her seat and let her back rest on the counter with her elbows on it.

"Didn't you hear what I said? All down!" The unknown man said with his hands trembling. Cecilia noticed it and smirked evilly.

"You are an amateur right?" She asked with confidence making the man point his gun straight at her.

"Yes… you are! Look at how you hold the gun. And I guess this is also your first time committing, what? A robbery?" She continued without caring about the gun. The man took a step back still trembling like a fish out of water.

"I wonder what made you go all the way to buy a gun and come here next." She asked.

"No… I didn't buy it. He gave it to me." The man said feeling ashamed for his actions. That made Cecilia smile more.

"Oho~? Yet you took it. And you came here for the money right?"

"Ye-yes… now shut up and give them to me!"

"You do realize that you shot a man, right?" Cecilia continued ignoring his screams and threats. The man looked behind him at Simon who was still on the ground.

"And you do realize that when they find you, you will be charged with murder, right?"

"No… they won't find me!"

"Are you sure? I mean this is a very popular place. Also, lot's of people are outside right now. Half of them saw you shooting that guy over there, and the other half are wondering what is going on inside here. I mean how can you escape from all this?"

"I will take the back door of course!"

"Oh! I see. You have thought everything, huh? And tell me one more thing. What your family is going to think? After all, you shot a man, came in here holding a gun requesting money, which you will use I guess to repay debts and then you will run away? What a coward they will think, right? Or better, a criminal! Because, what are you going to say to them about the source of the money?"

The man got angrier when she mentioned his family. He tried to aim at her head and pulled the trigger. Everyone went silent for a few seconds. Then they turned their heads towards Cecilia. He missed because he was trembling from anger. Cecilia again didn't move an inch from her seat. She just burst out laughing.

"Just give up! It's over! You can't even shoot someone from 10 meters apart, and you want to robe a restaurant? Are you an idiot or something?" She continued to laugh without being able to hold herself. The man started to lose it and started to repeat again and again 'I am not an idiot.' The rest in the restaurant were watching astonished by her behavior.

"I am not an idiot! I am not an idiot! I AM NOT AN IDIOT!" He continued to shout as he kneeled down and caught his head with his hands. Cecilia stopped and looked at him in a very deserving way.

"Ok, then you are a loser! That suits you better! A loser who will go to prison because he took the wrong decisions in his life sending to hell him and his family! Yeah, loser suits you better!" She screamed and continued to laugh. The man stopped talking for a while. He thought all the things she said, and he realized that she was right after all. Then he started to cry like a little baby apologizing to his family for him being such a useless husband and father while he was pointing his gun to his head ready to fire.

"Nooo!" Everyone screamed trying to stop him. The man closed his eyes shut and took a deep breath ready to end his life. But then his voice was heard as the gun fell to the ground.

"Oto… we don't want that now, do we?" Cecilia was heard, and everyone turned to her shocked. She had thrown her chopsticks and managed to hit his hands making him drop the gun before he sent himself to the other world. The man stayed in place looking lost in his own thoughts.

"Call an ambulance!" Dennis said as he rushed to Simon. Then the door opened again, and the blond, beautiful woman that Cecilia has seen before entered the restaurant along with another handsome blond guy, who she also had met before.

"Boss! The police need to speak to you- Simon!" The girl said surprised looking at her fallen friend.

"Simon! Who did that, huh?" The blond guy spoke angrily as he looked around to spot the shooter, ready to kick his ass.

"Oh crap! Shizuo is angry. The poor guy doesn't stand a chance!" One of the gang of four commented amused. Shizuo walked towards the man in the middle of the restaurant and got him from his shirt.

"You bastard shot him?" He asked ready to explode.

"Yes..." The man answered.

Shizuo then took him and sent him flying out of the restaurant. Cecilia followed the flying guy until he became one with the stars.

"Ts and I wanted to know who gave him the gun..." She said disappointed as she turned around and continued to eat ignoring the voices and panic behind her. Once she finished her food, she left the money next to her plate and left the building from the hole that the flying man created minutes ago. She didn't want to get involved with the police.

"Idiots will remain idiots… forever..." She sighed as she resigned back to her hotel exhausted.

But she really couldn't sleep. She was bothered by her actions. She kept wondering why did she even bothered to help them anyway? Why didn't she just let him kill himself? After all she had promised to herself that she wouldn't play the hero anymore and that she wouldn't help nobody without having something in return.

"That's it! I own them! They did promised to keep my secret after all…"

But what about the other dude?

"Maybe like an unnecessary casualty…"

* * *

 **Ok! She met with lots of our favorite characters! See ya next chapter!**


	3. Chapter 3 - Can't leave you now, can I?

**Hallo Everyone! Welcome Back!**

 **Thank you for still reading my story! It means a lot to me!**

So let me thank ** **Aqua Lilly **** for following the story! It means a lot to me!

And thank you very much ****Plexi Pink **** for favoring the story! It means a lot to me!

 ** **It means a lot to me both of you! T_T****

 ** **Guys Enjoy! ^_^****

* * *

 ** **Chapter 3****

 ** **Can't leave now, can I?****

The rest of the week passed quietly. Well almost quiet. There were good and bad news in this week. The good news were that Simon was shot in a place where didn't cause him any damage. Cecilia paid him a visit one day after her job and saw with her own eyes that he was good as new. The bad news were that the man, who was responsible for his injury, was never caught. That rumor gave a mixture of feelings to Cecilia. After all he shot her friend but at the end he was forced to act like that.

More good news were the fact that work was going good and her boss seemed to like her and trust her. The money were also good.

More bad news were the problem that she couldn't find a place to stay like she wanted it plus her sudden meetings with Izaya at the streets and roofs. She was seeing him at least once every day. He would always act like an idiot and make her angry with his cheesy comments causing them to argue. But they exchanged contact information under some weird circumstances.

Of course wherever was Izaya was and Shizuo along with a flying vending machine.

"Really those guys have lots of free time! And that Shizuo! Can't he stop throwing stuff when I am arguing with Izaya?" Cecilia murmured under her breath while she was one step away from being hit by a flying vending machine. "I give up..." she said when Shizuo ran after Izaya and she sat on the ground out of a cat-cafe. She looked at the sky and begged god to give some scenes into those two idiots. Then suddenly she felt someone sitting next to her out of the blue. She looked at her side and saw a girl looking at her curiously.

"Can I help you?" she asked politely trying to understand her reasons behind her behavior. The unknown girl got up again and pointed down at Cecilia with her finger.

"I knew it! You are the one from last week at the Russian Sushi Restaurant! Ne ne NE?" she shouted excited while jumping up and down. Cecilia nodded lost.

"I knew it! You were awesome!" stars appeared in her eyes while she bended over Cecilia.

"Um… you were there?"

"Hell yeah I was! But that courage you show! Oh my god! Like a heroine out of a manga! Badass and crazy! Really, at some point I thought I was seeing Izaya-kun!" she continue to speak non-stop. Cecilia was smiling at her not knowing what to do.

"Oh by the way! I am Erica! Nice to meet you!"

"Oh, I am Cecilia! Nice to meet you too!"

The girl then waved goodbye and left.

"Ikebukuro has some crazy people." Cecilia commented and got up too. She had to return back to her work.

* * *

A few days later, her boss asked her and Kotarou to go again to Izaya's house for cleaning.

"Weren't we there like a week ago? Why so fast?" she asked annoyed as she really didn't want to see him. She had enough Izaya for that week.

"No idea, girl!" Kotarou tried to easy the situation.

But she got her answer soon enough. When they arrived, the apartment was a huge mess. The books were all thrown on the floor, his computer was destroyed and some of the windows were broken. His bedroom was a mess too. The bed was totally destroyed.

"Ah… and I liked that bed!" Cecilia commented sadly when she saw it like that. Izaya smirked with her comment and promised her that he would buy a new and better one. Of course she was more than welcomed to try it. She looked at him annoyed and pushed him out of the room.

According to Izaya someone had sneaked in while he was out and was looking for something.

"Maybe they were seeking for revenge." She joked with him but he agreed with her with a smile. Cecilia looked at him worried.

"Olia? Are you worried about me, Lia-chan?" He mocked her while walking towards his destroyed desk.

"You are human. You aren't a god Izaya. Maybe this was a warning." She said only to be shut with a sudden kiss on the lips by the raven. She backed off disgusted and he passed her skipping.

"Aren't you cute when you are worried about me?" he whispered in her ear.

"Cut the crap already and get your sorry ass out of here. We have to clean the place." she said clearly not amused with his games. He smiled and left humming.

"That idiot. He will get killed before I..." she shook her head and brought her fingers on her lips.

"No… I will kill him first!" she shouted.

* * *

After that day she didn't hear from Izaya and neither saw him on the streets. For some reason she was feeling weird when she was walking down the street. So she would jump from roof to roof instead. Again the same feeling. She was feeling like something was missing. And it was also so quiet.

One of those quiet days she started to have a very bad feeling. And why not, as everything was going wrong from the moment she had woken up. First, she didn't get up early so she was late for work making her boss angry. Second she almost fell from the stairs on her way to check an apartment and third, she forgot her phone at work which she realized on her way home.

"How bad can this day get?" she screamed so she returned to her company to get her phone. While she was walking out of the company her phone rang.

"Hello! Kendo speaking." she answered as she didn't recognize the caller.

"Huh… I called you of all people… what a bad luck I have today..." an almost dead voice was heard from the other line of the phone making Cecilia worry. But she recognized that voice.

"Izaya?"

"The one and… only..." he said with a voice covered in pain.

"Where are you?" she asked calmly.

"Home…"

"I am coming! Stay on the phone!" she ordered as she ran out of the company towards his apartment.

"Heh… why would you come?"

"Eh?"

"You hate me, right? So why would you come? Let me die already..."

"Shut up! Stop talking like that! I will be there in ten!"

So she ran. She ran as fast as she could. She was still speaking with him on the phone to make sure he was still alive until she arrived outside his apartment. The door was open and the house was again a mess. She looked around trying to spot him.

"Over here..." she heard his weak voice behind his desk. He was on the ground and covered in his own blood. She let her phone on the desk, looked at him coldly and sat next to him.

"Want me to call someone or to call an ambulance?" she asked calmly like they were chit chatting.

"In my phone I have an entry… Shinra is the name… call him… he is an underground doctor..."

She followed his instructions and called that doctor asking him to come over. Once she finished with the call she threw the phone on the desk too.

"Why didn't you call him from the beginning?" she asked annoyed. "And I thought that I had your number."

"I didn't see who I called. As you can I see I can't see right now… and I have more than one phones."

"You still have them? Your eyes I mean..."

"Yes… they just beat me up pretty badly. I wonder if I will be as handsome as before after my recovery." he said sarcastically. His eyes were both closed and he had a peaceful yet painful expression on his face. She signed and threw herself on the ground next to him.

"If you have a strong desire to live… you will survive from anything..." she said like she was talking to herself.

Izaya burst out laughing but regretted it immediately as he was hurt all over his body and the pain was unbearable. "What is this? Trying to make me feel better?"

"Who knows?" she said without care and stayed quiet waiting for the doctor to come.

"You are pretty calm. I thought you would be the kind of person who would scream and panic by looking at a badly injured person. That is why I said I was in bad luck today when I called you." he commented and smirked.

"I have seen worse. You have nothing." she spitted coldly.

"Oh… you are so cold, Lia-chan!" he said in pain and shut up.

After some time they heard steps inside the house and a guy dressed like a doctor appeared behind the desk. Shinra looked at the fallen raven and shook his head disappointed.

"It seems like this time they got you alright." he said and stepped down to treat his patient. Cecilia ignored him and left their side. As long as the doctor was there she wasn't needed anymore so she left the house.

Shinra continued to treat Izaya after he took his eyes from Cecilia.

"Who was that girl? One of your girlfriends?"

"No… but she will fall at some point – aouch - hey!"

"You should stop using people Izaya-kun! Look at what happened to you! Next time you may end up dead you know."

"Yeah… but she is nothing like them..." he smiled at his friend.

Izaya was Shinra's best friend along with Shizuo. Shinra knew that they were both fighters and they were strong but every time they would call he was afraid that something very bad would have happened to them. Like today. A girl called him instead of Izaya. At first he thought that Izaya was dead, as he never let anyone touch his phones. So his first thought was death. Of course he felt relieved when he heard that he was alive but still. He wanted to punch those two idiots who fight without caring about the people who actually care about them.

"All set!" the doctor said and got up again. "Do you have anyone to take care of you?" he asked next.

"Hm… Namie-san. But I highly doubt it. Why?"

"You will need someone to look after you. You won't be able to move for a long time after all. They broke lots of bones." the doctor said concerned. "I will send you to the hospital then."

And so he did. Izaya wanted to stay away from the hospital as he would be an easier target for those who hated him but Shinra wouldn't listen so he accepted his fate. But this time he really didn't want anyone to know that he was in the hospital and in that kind of situation.

* * *

The next day someone kept calling Cecilia's phone non-stop. When she tried to answer the calls, the caller wouldn't speak but he would only breath so she just stopped picking up the phone. That continued for the whole day driving her crazy. Then, at the end of her shift, someone mailed her telling her that he knew that she was in the hospital and that he would kill her soon. She wondered about what he was talking about so she mailed him back asking him for explanations. Then it was when she realized what was going on. The guy actually answered her back calling her Izaya and told her to stop giving his phone to girls to answer it. She then checked her phone once again. That phone wasn't hers. It was someone's else and she didn't realized it until now. And that phone was Izaya's.

"Shit shit shit shit..." she cursed her stupidity. She must have taken the wrong phone the day before at Izaya's house. It seemed like they had the same model and the same color. No wonder they couldn't reach her all day.

"What an idiot can I be… so let me call my phone… he must be having it..." she murmured on her way home.

"Hello?"

"Izaya..."

"Oh isn't it Lia-chan!"

"Where are you?"

"Non of your business!" he said playfully like a maiden in love teasing her boyfriend.

"Ok… so you don't care what is going to happen to your phone right?" she said agreeing playing his game.

"What are you talking about? I have it right here." he continued to mock her.

"No you don't...I have it… I took your phone while I was leaving your apartment yesterday. We have the same model and color…." she remained silent.

Izaya stayed silent too for a while and then he asked her to come to his room at the Raira Hospital to exchange phones. She hanged up and changed her way to the hospital.

* * *

 ** **At the hospital****

"Here..." she gave his phone to him as soon as she got inside the room.

"Make me a favor… don't tell anyone about this..." Izaya said embarrassed from his mistake as he handed her phone back to her.

"I won't… but I don't think that you should care about that right now..." she said amused.

"Why?"

"They know that you are here and they want to kill you. Check your phone..."

Izaya first checked his calls. All of them were from the same number. He looked at her for a moment and looked back at his mails. It was full of hateful mails towards him, all from the same email address.

"What did he tell you on the phone?"

"He wouldn't talk. He would only breath. Creepy as hell. Then he send me that mail." she said and he looked at his mails where he saw what she meant.

"Perfect" he humored enjoying his situation.

"Are you in danger?" she asked and this time her voice had some color in her.

"Maybe. But this is perfectly fine! I am excited you know!" he grinned widely but she didn't.

"You know that they might kill you this time!" she said in the same worried tone.

"Oh don't sound like Shinra-chan! Lia-chan, are you worried about me?"

"Of course I am! I was the one who helped you! I don't want my efforts to go to waste! Plus after all this you I consider you as a friend. So shut up!" she exclaimed feeling angry with him. He blinked a few times and burst out laughing.

"Humans! I love humans!"

She signed and sat on the bed next to him.

"They will kill you. Keep on smiling!" she said without caring and looked at the ceiling.

"I will be waiting!" he answered when their phones buzzed at the same time. They had mail.

Izaya grinned reading his and Cecilia started to look around her as she got up.

"What are you doing?" he asked annoyed.

"They are here. Read."

It was true. Her mail was saying that they were at the hospital and they were coming for them. His mail from the other side was just saying "Get ready to die!". He looked at her and then at the door and windows.

"HAHAHAHA this is the best!" he laughed out loud and threw his arms in the air.

"Dude!" she shouted at him when the glass of one of the windows broke and Cecilia felt a small burn at her cheek. She brought her hand to her face to check what it was.

"Blood. They shot you." Izaya smiled waiting for her reaction.

"I hope next time they will shoot you." she said calmly and walked away from his bed. Izaya followed her every move. She hadn't freak out and she was acting like nothing was wrong with the whole situation. He started to enjoy the situation even more.

"What are you going to do?" he asked totally interested to her answer.

"The best option I have here is to give you to them, but I won't. My efforts would go on waste. So I guess I will help you escape." she answered and shined a bright smile. She sat him on the wheelchair next to the bed and covered his legs with one of the bed sheets.

"Do you have your knife with you?" she asked him. He nodded and pointed at his jacket. She took his jacket and threw it at him after taking his knife from it. With it she opened two holes at another sheet and wore it like a jacket too.

"What are you-?"

"You will see… you are lucky that it's night outside and dark." she grinned at him and pushed him out of the room slowly. She looked around to check if anyone was there and took him out of the room as fast as she could towards the elevator. Some nurses who saw them didn't respond at all. Izaya then got the reason of the bed sheets. Once they were in and the door was closing they heard someone calling them to stop, gunshots and screams.

"That was a close one" he commented and smirked at her when they were safe in the elevator. She didn't answer as she was focused on the floors they were passing.

"Wear your jacket and cover your face as much as you can." She ordered him. Once they arrived at the ground floor she covered her face with some of the sheet she was wearing and pushed him towards the outdoor parking without again anyone reacting. She looked around to see if anyone was there and was looking at them or was following them.

"They are still into the hospital. Hurry." the raven gave her the green light to continue. She nodded and pushed him to the other side of the parking. There she found the ambulances.

"You are kidding, right?" he asked when he realized what she was thinking. She ignored him and left him alone for a while to check if anyone was there. She took off the bed sheets and she opened the door of the ambulance. The keys were on.

"Hey! What are you doing there!?" a driver caught her all of a sudden and drag her out. She didn't fight but went along with him. When he pinned her on the ambulance, in front of the raven, she saw some men in black approaching them dangerously. She turned to the raven worried as he was sitting calmly at his chair and then to the driver who was asking her questions. She slowly moved her head towards his ear and murmured something in his ear. The driver immediately set her free from his arms and walked towards Izaya. She went back to the ambulance and got in at the driver's seat. The driver took Izaya and brought him inside the ambulance making him lay on the bed in there. He threw the wheelchair in there too and he closed the door. Cecilia started the ambulance and left the hospital as fast as she could. She saw from the side mirror the men throwing the driver away and then getting into a car to go after them.

"Izaya! Tell me where you want me to take you!" she joked with the injured and shocked black haired guy at the back of the ambulance. The raven just looked at her and let his self rest on the bed.

"Anywhere you want. Just away from those guys."

She nodded satisfied with his response and drove the ambulance inside Ikebukuro. The men kept on following them at every part of it they were going.

"They are really persistent! I have to admit that much!" she smiled to herself. She was enjoying it more than she thought she would until she found herself in front of train rails and an upcoming train.

"Izaya hold still!" she screamed at him and drove directly to the train rails. It was a game of time, and they managed to win it. Their hunters didn't and the train hit them hard.

"ts… amateurs" she remarked and drove a little out of Ikebukuro. There she parked at a deserted place and went to take Izaya. The raven was sleeping quietly on the bed.

"How?" she said in disbelief. "Did he passed out?"

She took the wheelchair out of the ambulance and placed him on her carefully. She let the ambulance and pushed the chair slowly all the way back to his apartment.

* * *

Izaya woke up and found himself on his new bed. He looked around him to make sure he was home and then checked his phone. He had several messages, all from the same sender again. All of them were somehow the same.

 ** _ **This time you escaped.**_**

 ** _ **This girl is as good as dead.**_**

 ** _ **Stay alive until we kill you!**_**

 ** _ **Stay alert! We are coming for you!**_**

He rolled his eyes and tried to move but he was in pain to do so, so he just gave up. He tried to recall what happened. He was at the hospital. Cecilia came. Someone shoot her and they both left the hospital, in an ambulance.

"Woow… that is crazy… and embarrassing at the same time." he rolled under his bedsheets. Then the door opened and Shinra entered the room.

"Oh! You finally woke up Izaya-kun!" he said happily and sat next to him. The raven looked at him confused.

"Oh yes… you were sleeping the whole day! It's night now you know!" the doctor smiled at his patient. Izaya smirked and looked out of the window.

"You know… Cecilia-chan saved your sorry-ass twice already! You should thank her someday."

"Someday?"

"Yes. She isn't here right now. Well she said that she got a mail and she had to leave. And I let her go."

"A mail, huh?"

Then he received one himself. Once he saw the content he grinned evilly.

"Hm? Is something wrong?" the doctor asked and looked at the screen too.

"She is a monster. That girl..." the raven said and started to laugh unable to stop himself. The doctor again had lost his color. The mail was from Cecilia and it contained a single photo of men in black all beat up and under it a question.

 ** _ **Is that enough?**_**

* * *

 ** **Ok! That was and the third chap! I hope you liked it! And like that Cecilia and Izaya came a little closer, ne? And Also you saw some of Cecilia's power. :P Stay tuned for the next chapter! ^_^ See ya! ^_^****


	4. Chapter 4 - Let's Get Even

Thank you ****Rima Zhnwach**** for following and favoring my story! It means a lot to me! **^_^**

 ** **Welcome back everyone!****

 ** **It's finally snowing! And it's cold!****

 ** **Ready to continue?****

 ** **Enjoy! ^_^****

* * *

 ** **Chapter 4****

 ** **Let's Get Even****

Izaya considered himself lucky as they had just broke his legs while his arms were left untouched. They were still recovering from Shizuo's hit a year before and any kind of injury would be fatal. Also his wound from Varona's knife, which almost killed him, had closed too. She even apologized for it. Of course because Shizuo asked her to. That girl was head over heels for him and she thought that it was respect or hate. Anyway something that he enjoyed was her irritated expression when she was apologizing.

But that was not his only problem. He couldn't move so automatically he couldn't work and that was frustrating.

"Hm? Consider it as a break." Cecilia told him one day as she was cleaning his apartment after his request. He personally called her and asked her to come and clean. Obviously, he would pay her at the end of the day or else she wouldn't accept the job on her day off.

"A break? I am an information broker! Last year I was out for a couple of days and I lost so many events! Hey! Be careful with that! It's expensive you know!" he teased her knowing that this would get her nerves more. She wasn't happy about this cleaning at all.

"You are lucky that you are paying me for this! Or else I would be gone by now!" she hissed and continued her work.

The truth behind his request was that he was feeling lonely and he really didn't have anyone to talk to as Namie was gone to stalk he brother 24/7 now that he was unable to work.

"Aren't we friends?" he asked mocking her with her own words. She didn't answer but just ignored him again. Time passed with him being stuck on his bed and Cecilia walking up and down in his room cleaning.

"Ne! You need money right? Why by the way?" he asked all of a sudden. She was now next to his bed cleaning his closet.

"To pay for my own apartment."

"Do you own one?"

"No. I will rent one."

"Hm…. So? Where do you live now?"

"At a hotel."

"I see… and how do you like your apartment?"

"At a high place where I can see the city..." she answered as she threw all his clothes on his bed. He looked at them and then back at her, who now was taking out some boxes with shoes and stuff.

"I see… by the way how old are you?" he asked again and throw him self back.

"Younger than you." she said as she started to open the boxes.

"I see… wait, how do you know my age?"

"You are 26 to 27, 1.75 but I guess you got a little taller, blood type O, Orihara Shirou your father and Orihara Kyoko your mother. You also have two sisters Mairu and Kururi, twins. And like I said… I am younger than you but older than your sisters." she said in a bored tone like his information weren't interesting at all. Izaya's smile was gone and now he was looking at her suspiciously.

"Oi… where did you find all these information?" he was grave and his tone was heavy. She continued to arrange his closet without answering to him.

"Hey! Don't ignore me!" he hissed and got up a little. She started to put the boxes back into the wardrobe carefully.

"Someone's eyes are the windows of his heart, and someone's house is the door to his past and life." she said with a slow voice without enjoying the conversation. She sounded disappointed. Izaya's eyes opened wide and a huge grin appeared on his face while shouting loudly how much he loved humans and how curiosity is one of human's best ability. Cecilia ignored his usual behavior and continued her job.

"You are perfect for the job after all!" he exclaimed. "Lia-chan~ want to make a deal with me?" The girl ignored him again.

"With this you will get a great amount of money." he continued.

Cecilia stopped moving his clothes back to the closet and turned towards the raven.

"Keep talking." she said sharply as now he had her attention. Izaya smiled satisfied. He sat a little more comfortable and cleared his throat. He explained to her again that he was unable to work so he needed someone to help him now that Namie was gone. In other words he asked her to become his eyes in the city for certain jobs he had to finish. She thought about it for a while and asked if the jobs had to do with the yakuza. He smiled widely and nodded.

"I will accept but you have to promise me that you won't lie to me about any kind of job and cause me any kind of problem, because I can kill you now that you are unable to move." she was serious and her eyes were sending him messages of danger which were making him nervous. But he didn't lose his cool and promised to not mess with her.

"And about the money?"

"There is a payment of course! You will get the 30% of the money."

"70%" she corrected him.

"Excuse me?"

"I said I will get the 70% from each job. I will be doing the job and meeting with the clients. You will only give the name. Deal?" she was smart and Izaya knew that he couldn't do anything as he was needing her so he agreed defeated.

She blinked a few times as she didn't expect him to agree so easily and nodded smiling. They gave hands and sealed their agreement.

The very next day Cecilia went to buy a second phone with a new number. That would be for Izaya's jobs. She didn't want them to have her personal number.

"Jee…. Thinking that I will start the same thing and here… Once an information broker, always an information broker, huh?" she signed while she was playing with her new phone waiting for instructions from Izaya. "But this job is perfect for me to form bonds with the underworld." she smiled at her phone when Izaya finally contacted her with information for her first job.

* * *

The next two months were intense, dangerous and bad, but they had and good things in them. For example, Cecilia was enjoying every bit of her new job. She even combined both her jobs making it much easier for her to gather information. The trick was that no one was paying attention to the cleaners. So getting the information she wanted was easier.

Also Izaya's apartment had became her second home as she would spend her days there when she wasn't at any of her two jobs. They would spend hours talking and discussing the upcoming jobs and clients. A good thing about Izaya was the fact that he liked to brag about his previous clients and his jobs with them. Cecilia would sit and suck every detail he was telling her about anyone and anything. That way she was getting anything and everything she wanted thanks to Izaya. She got to know her clients better than they thought, making it easier for her to use them at some point for her own record as they would trust her completely at that point.

But the deal was also good and for Izaya as he had some company and could get the information he wanted for the outside world without getting bored at home. She was also cooking and cleaning the house, of course with extra payment, but he was totally ok with it. He was pleased with her work and he enjoyed her company. With every job she was doing successfully the more he thought that he could might even trust her. Something that was bothering him the nights before he go to sleep. At the end he chose to just ignore that feeling and go back to his regular ways.

* * *

The last job Cecilia had, was to collect information about a famous CEO which there were rumors about him trying to pull yakuza's legs as he was trying to sell drugs into their bars via the bartenders he was sending to work there.

The quest was from a famous redhead yakuza member, Akabayashi Mizuki. He highly disliked drugs and was quiet angry about that matter. Cecilia had heard from Izaya and from other clients that he was kind but fearful and strong at the same time and that his boss was one of the strongest yakuza bosses in Ikebukuro, maybe in Japan too. She thought that if she could make him an ally that would be a big win.

"Hm… so you are working for Izaya?" was the demon's first question when he met with Cecilia at one of the bars he liked to hang out. The girl just nodded. She wasn't surprised by his injured eye but thought that it was giving him something like a charm.

"Yes. Please forgive my rudeness. My name is Kendo Cecilia. I am currently working under Orihara Izaya. At least until he is able to work again." she bowed her head and sat at the opposite side of the table. The redhead demon was impressed by her politeness and smiled to himself.

"Such a good girl. Too bad you are working for that guy." he drank some of his drink feeling sorry for the girl.

"Please don't feel sorry for my account. You should only think about your problem, which I am here to solve."

'So professional… is she in the business too?' the old man thought and let his glass on the table.

"Ok then. Let's get into business. Here is the photo of the CEO I want you to follow and learn about his next plans and how deep he is in this job." he placed the photo of a good looking yet hateful guy on the table and pushed her towards the girl. The girl saw it and put her under her coat.

"How would you like to inform you about him, once I have the information you ask?" she asked next making the yakuza to look at her surprised.

"Hahahaha… you are too serious about it! Fine! Here is my contact info. Once you are through give me a call." the girl took his card and left bowing again.

The old man sat back and grabbed his glass again.

"That girl seems quite useful. Izaya, you bastard, you have a good eye."

* * *

Cecilia liked that demon, a lot. She had a long time meeting such a person. So she wanted to get that job done perfect! First thing was to get her company send her to the company of that CEO she had to look for. She managed to get her company give her and Kotarou the job for this company. Her company was responsible for almost all the big companies in Ikebukuro and other places around.

"Lucky!" she hummed when she walked inside the company.

They worked there for five days. Those days were more than welcomed as she managed to get some crazy information about the CEO and rumors which ended up to be true at the end. How did she manage to gather so many information? Easy as eating a cake! Being a cleaner means that you can be whenever you want, anytime you want and being ignore by everyone and anyone. People had that bad habit of speaking in front of cleaners all the time so she could gather plenty of information. Also she had volunteered to clean and the windows from outside. Maybe she couldn't listen to what they were saying inside but she took plenty of photos. And juicy ones.

During the sixth day she went to Izaya to report about her process and to get his permission to call the client. Izaya was very strict when it came to the information which was about to be given to the client. He wanted everything to be perfect. Cecilia was a perfectionist so she didn't have any problem with meeting Izaya's expectations. The meeting would be in two days.

* * *

 ** **At the meeting with Akabayashi****

Akabayashi was sitting at his usual spot at his favorite bar waiting for the information broker to appear. Cecilia arrived a few minutes later holding a folder in her hands. She bowed to her client and sat at the opposite side like the last time.

"Well… give me what you have!" the yakuza asked her looking at her folder. She nodded and opened the folder taking out papers and photos of the CEO.

"Let me start then. The target was the CEO of Usagi Company, Shantaro Ichigo. He is the CEO there as a vitrine. He doesn't really have any kind of power in the company. He is the face of the company and only that. He is also indeed the one who sends the bartenders to your bars and he is also the one who is training them. By training I mean he teaches them the tactics of selling drugs to the drunk ones and mix drugs with the drinks of innocent drinkers. Here are some of the formulas they use." she handed him a sheet and continued. "But he is merely a pawn. He just follows orders by the son of the owner of the company." she handed him a photo of the CEO speaking with the son. "Also they are using lot's of different drug dealers but right now they are working with him." she gave him one more photo with the CEO making a deal with that drug dealer. Akayabashi immediately recognized the other person and let his glass on the table with force, almost breaking it.

Cecilia ignored his reaction and continued with the same tone.

"They are usually meeting at strip clubs like the 'Bunnies Paradise' and 'Angel's Sanctuary'. The CEO also has been convicted for sexual harassment but the charges were dismissed as the girl who was attacked sexually by him was mysteriously disappeared. There are many other girls who were attacked by him but none of them went against him as they were afraid of being 'disappeared' too. Many of the workers of the company believe that the girl was murdered. Her name is Natasha Victorof. She is half Russian. The company says that she left for Russia but no one believes it expect from the police. Also the owner of the company is sick and he is close to death. That work with the bartenders was supposed to be a project by the son. But the father rejected it saying that it was too dangerous and he couldn't trust anyone for this kind of job. Now that he is out of the company, the son took charge and he started that project of his. The amount of money they are getting is huge compared to the company's usual income. So, they are sending them aboard to other banks to cover their plans. This is the name of the bank. It's somewhere in Europe. An underground bank. You need to be very well trusted to have your money there. That is all." she finished and took a deep breath to calm down a little as she was a little nervous. The yakuza in front of her wasn't looking very good and was really angry. Cecilia didn't speak because she knew that with any sudden move or any wrong word, she is as good as dead. Akayabashi stayed quiet for a while and then smiled at her. The girl didn't change her calm expression and waited for his response.

"Ah! I am sorry! I am sorry! Did I scare you?" She didn't answer and he lost his smile.

"I am sorry… you know that guy, that mother fucker and low life drug dealer is a scum. He has killed with his drugs so many innocent people. I hate scums like him. The information you gave me were perfect! Really! You did and amazing job! Izaya must be proud of you. Good job! Would you like something to drink? I am so rude for not offering you something to drink." he said in a sad tone and tried to call the bartender but Cecilia kindly refused his offer and left for back home. She was exhausted and she wanted to sleep. But for her bad luck Izaya called her.

"Heyyy! So? How did it go?" his voice was the usual annoying one.

"Good. I hope so. You need something else?" she asked waiting to close the phone.

"Υes. Come over. It's a new job." he said in a more serious tone and hanged up first. Amelia cursed him and changed her way to his house disappointed.

"Izaya! I hate you! I want to sleep!" she complaint when she entered the house screaming so he could listen to her from his bedroom. He had given her the keys of his house so she could enter when she was coming over as he couldn't move. She climbed the stairs finding him standing and looking inside his closet.

"Wow? You can walk again?" she asked amazed.

"Somehow. I am still in pain though. So? How was your last job?" he asked excited.

"Exhausting! And you said that this would be the last one! What now?" she asked annoyed and threw herself on his bed, not intending to get up again.

"Well actually I am looking for something and I can't find it! You were the last one who arranged the boxes in here so you better know where it is and… you are sleeping."

He singed heavily and chuckled.

"She is only human after all! Humans get tired too. I will look for it tomorrow then." he said to him self and painfully returned to his bed where he slept next to her.

* * *

The next morning when Cecilia had woken up he was already gone. She got up still tired and looked around half asleep.

"Hm?" she tried to understand where she was when a female voice woke her up once and for all.

"If you are one of Izaya's sleeping hoes please get your things and get out of here." she said. Cecilia just looked at her confused but she recognized her immediately.

"Oh! You are Namie-san, right?" asked the younger girl as she sat more properly on the bed.

"Yes. Now leave!" she groaned and went straight to the wardrobe.

Cecilia watched her every move and she understood that she was looking for something in the closet.

"What are you looking for?" she asked willing to help as she knew the closet pretty good.

"None of your business." Namie answered coldly and continue to throw the things out of the closet like a manic. She was upset.

"I was the one who had arranged that closet and now you are ruining it. Tell me what you are looking for so I can help you and stop wasting your time like this." Cecilia started to get angry as her efforts were going into waste.

"Fine! I am looking for a little box. It contains a ring. Izaya is asking for it. And of course he asked me to do his chores. But he is lucky he is paying me!" Namie explained and let the closet alone.

"I like you, we think alike…Well I had seen a small box but I don't know about any ring… it's at the blue box at the back of the closet. Behind the black jeans. Check there."

Namie followed her instructions and found it immediately but when she opened it she left it disappointed.

"No ring?"

"No ring..." Namie said and left the room. Cecilia got up and followed her to the living room. Namie offered her coffee and they sat at the living room to chat.

"So you aren't sleeping with Izaya?" Namie asked the other girl in disbelief. She found her after all sleeping in his bed. But she was full dressed so there was a chance she was something else too, right?

"No. I was working for him while he was hurt. Well I needed money so I accepted his offer." Cecilia smiled at the other woman. Namie then recognized her.

"Now I feel stupid. I have seen you so many times already. You are working for that cleaning company right?"

"That is correct."

"I see… so tell me how do you know Izaya?"

Cecilia explained her everything from the beginning. From the cleaning day, their meetings and how annoying he is, to the events at the hospital and the deal they had. Namie was impressed from Cecilia's patience.

"So how about you?" Cecilia asked. Namie explained to her about her company and how she got bought from other, stronger ones and that she was working under Izaya for money and to avoid getting arrest.

"We do think alike after all!" Namie smirked and the girls laughed together. They continued to make fun of Izaya until Cecilia asked her new friend a serious question.

"Ne Namie. What do you think of Izaya?" Namie let her cup of coffee and thought for a while before she answers.

"He is a manipulator and a lonely guy. He likes to play with other people lives. He can use you and then throw you like a trash. He can stab you smiling. He can send you to your death without caring a bit. He will make you do anything so he could see your reactions. He proclaims that he loves all human beings even though they don't love him back and he is totally ok with it. That is what making him more lonely. But he is not as low as to attack a woman." she finished in a professional manner.

"One side love huh? And you? Do you have any feelings for your boss?" she asked again in a cheesy matter. Namie burst out laughing but managed to control herself and answer the question.

"Me? In love with Izaya? Oh my! Hell no! There is only one for me! Seiji!" she became all red and cupped both her cheeks with her hands.

"Seiji?"

"My brother!"

"Wow! Incest? Cool!" Cecilia chuckled. She didn't see THAT coming!

* * *

Izaya was walking down the street in deep thought as lots events had occurred from the moment he had woken up this morning. First he couldn't find the ring anywhere in the closet so he gave up and asked Namie to look for it. Then Shinra told him that he had to wait some more until he goes back at work, something he didn't like at all. Then her sisters called and annoyed him even more saying that they would visit him. But what he was thinking and couldn't take out of his mind was what he did the morning before he left for Shinra's.

He had woken up first and got a shower and stuff and was ready to leave when he heard a voice from his bed. When he checked he found Cecilia under the sheets sleeping. He looked at her confused for a while until he saw her wearing clothes and remembered that last night he had asked her to come over and she ended up sleeping on his bed. He signed and was ready to wake her up when he noticed her calm sleeping face. He was caught in the moment and after a few minutes a desire to touch her clouded his mind. Blind from that desire he approached her face and placed his lips on hers. After the touch he retreated immediately feeling embarrassed for his action and he walked out of his house as fast as he could.

"Why? Why did I do that? Shinra can't be right! No… I love all humans the same way. She isn't any different. I did that because wanted to annoy her! That's right!" he kept telling to himself until he arrived at the place he wanted to. A state agency.

"Oh my! Orihara-san! What can I do for you today?" the owner asked him as Izaya had worked for him in the past.

"I need to find a house."

"Oh yeah yeah! Is it for you?"

"No. It's for… a friend."

The owner of the agency took him personally to look around for apartments and houses. Izaya liked only one, which was at a place where you could see the whole city from there and it wasn't that much away from the center. Once he decided on the house he started to negotiate for the price. But for this he had to ask the owner. The owner was a very kind old woman which she immediately agreed on reducing the amount of the rent as long as the renter was a girl.

Izaya thanked the elderly woman and left for back home. He was tired and the cold started to catch up as November had come. When he arrived home a surprise was waiting for him. Cecilia, Namie and his twin sisters were all sitting around a hot pot and were chit chatting without hearing him entering the house. Cecilia saw him first and waved him to join them. The rest made place and he sat down too.

"What are you all doing here?"

"I found Cecilia here, so we started to talk. But we found no ring." Namie answered first.

"We came later as we promised and we found them here!" one of the twins said.

"And she asked us to stay and have a hot pot." the other twin continued.

"And as we had the ingredients we started one." Namie said again.

"And you are just in time! Eat up!" Cecilia sat next to him and gave him a plate smiling widely.

Izaya looked at her and then at her lips as the desire came back and started to get food in his plate trying to hide his embarrassment. Namie noticed that embarrassment and smiled evilly. The rest just ignored them. The rest of the night passed quietly with laughs and lot's of stories being told by Izaya. When they were full and tired they all decided to part. Before Cecilia leaves Izaya asked her to meet with him the next day after her work. She looked at him confused but agreed.

* * *

 ** **Next day****

Izaya was sitting out of Cecilia's company waiting for her. He was thinking about how she would react about the apartment he found for her. He was anxious for some reason. After all he had never get any kind of present for anyone. He had only one friend after all, Shinra. But they never had any kind of special bond between them. After all when Shinra had saved him back in highschool, Izaya managed to pay him back by making his attacker's life a living hell. So you can say that he didn't own him anymore. And there was Kine with that girl. Well they saved him alright but he paid them both so that was also over. And now was Cecilia. She was considering him as a friend and saved him the last time. He owned her. But still… why did he go so far as to find her an apartment to make it even?

"I don't get it! Fuck!" he groaned irritated by his own thoughts.

"Why are you here?" he heard someone from behind him. He turned and saw Cecilia looking at him irritated.

"Oh my! Lia-chan~! I came to pick up my girlfriend!" he said in his usual 'i don't care what others think about me' tone and loudly enough making some of Cecilia's coworkers look at them.

"Hahahaha… don't listen to him. He is joking. You know!" Cecilia laughed awkwardly and took Izaya from his jacket and pulled him away from her company's entrance.

"Are you crazy? Do you want them to think that we are a couple?" she hissed at him when they were away and in a dark alley.

"Me? You took me to a dark alley. Maybe..." he approached her face. "...you want my body?" and smirked satisfied to her angry face. The girl lost it for a second and was about to punch that idiot but instead she stepped forward and looked deep inside Izaya's eyes. Izaya blinked a few times with a lost smile. She withdrew and now she was looking at him smiling.

"You are so cute when someone look at you from a closer angle, Izaya-kun~" she sang and giggled as she was walking away waving. "Come and pick me up from the hotel I am staying. 'New Life' the name. Saya is the owner."

Izaya stayed quiet for a while as he was watching her walking away.

"Damn… she is good." he commented and went to find that hotel when he was found by his sisters in the middle of his way.

"Iza-ni!" Mairu shouted excited and jumped in front of him.

"Hm hm!" Kururi jumped next to her sister.

"What do you want?" Izaya asked annoyed as they were getting in his way.

"Ne ne! Cecilia-nessan is so cool! When is she coming again?" Mairu asked first.

"Why?"

"Because we liked her and we want to invite her for dinner." Kururi continued shyly. Izaya looked at them surprised as those two didn't like to have any kind of affection for anyone other themselves.

"Do you really want to invite her for dinner?" he raised his eyebrows.

"I want to fight her too! She said that she knew how to fight!" Mairu said excited and started to punch the air. Izaya signed and promised them that when she comes to visit he would call them and went back to his own way. He found the hotel quite easily in the narrow roads of Ikebukuro and he let himself in.

"Welcome to 'New Life'- You?" Saya lost her welcoming attitude and a rage took its place.

"Oh Isn't it Saya-san?" Izaya smirked as he saw one of his old clients. "Long time no see! I see that you own the hotel now, right?"

"Yes, I do. What are you doing here?"

"I came to pick up Lia-chan~" he sang and looked around amazed. "You did change it! Wow! Last time I saw it it was a whore house. Do you still have them?"

"No."

"I see..."

"Orihara-san. What is your connection with Cecilia?" Saya asked him all of a sudden.

"Hm.. you can say that we are friends. But she has worked for me so… I don't know, why?"

"Because I know you that you like to play with other people's emotions. I don't trust you!" Saya hissed and glared at him harder. Izaya didn't loose his cool but just smirk.

"Well then shall I play with her?"

"Please don't play with her. Don't hurt her more. She can't help but trust people and let them use her. But she is a good girl and she would never betray a friend." Saya's voice was broken but Izaya knew that she was telling the truth. After all Saya was a very honest person to begin with.

"Oh! You came!" Cecilia appeared from the stairs wearing new clothes. Izaya looked at her but couldn't take his eyes from her. She was wearing a tight black blouse, with a chess pattern skirt and black tights with black boots.

"Saya! I am leaving!" Cecilia drugged Izaya out of the hotel waving goodbye at the owner.

"Have fun!" Saya wished them.

The couple walked towards the center of the Ikebukuro with Izaya skipping next to Cecilia.

"So? Why did you want to meet up?" she asked when they finally arrived at the center of Ikebukuro.

"I wanted to show you something. Follow me." he said in a cute matter as he took her from her hand and guided her to the house he found. He kept holding her hand all the way to the house. Cecilia was all red but tried to hide it by looking around and being quiet so he wouldn't look at her. Izaya again didn't care until they arrived at the house. There he realized what he was doing and let her hand being embarrassed himself. The house was a two store house, with a big garden and big balconies. It was tall and cute.

"Wow! It's so beautiful!" the girl exclaimed.

"Wanna see it and from the inside?"

"Can we?"

"Of course!"

They walked through the garden to the door and entered the house. Cecilia looked at it's every corner. From the kitchen to the living room, to the two bathrooms and two bedrooms and office on the second floor. It was full furnitured and even had and its own fireplace at the living room. The kitchen was adorable and huge with a big table in the middle. Cecilia climbed to the second floor and stopped looking at the three doors in front of her.

"What is it?"

"Hm… which one should I choose first?" she had a very concerned expression. At the end she ran to the left and shouted that that room was huge! Izaya followed her to the balcony where she let a loud 'wow' which could be heard all over the neighborhood.

"It's so perfect! This house is like a dream! Is it yours? Are you buying it?" She asked excited Izaya who was next to her and was also admiring the view.

"Nope. Its yours. You said that you were looking for a place to live, right? And I owned you my life so I found one for you so you could start your life. That way we are even. Also, an old woman has it and it's really cheap because she wanted a girl to have it. Such a good old woman, don't you think?" he turned his head towards her to admire her expression. He expected her to be happy and jump up and down thanking him but it was completely the opposite. At the beginning she was silent looking at him with her big dark blue eyes. Then tears started to gather up making her eyes to sparkle under the moonlight along with a small smile. Izaya felt something like magic being cast upon him. He had lost his ignorance and was completely drawn by her beauty under the moon.

"Thank you, Izaya..."

Her words came out slowly and melodically. They were music to his ears. He felt his whole body shiver and getting hot. His heart started to beat faster and his breathing slightly increased. Unconsciously he walked towards her and hugged her tightly. She got off guard for a moment but hugged him back and buried her face in his clothes. Izaya was trying to understand the reason of his actions. He hated when someone was touching him and he didn't like to have much physical contact with other human beings. Now there he was hugging someone on his own. But he didn't hate it.

They were closer to each other than they usually are and he could feel the warmness of her body around his and that wasn't annoying him. He took his eyes from the moon down to her. He could feel her tremble a little cause of the cold. He felt the need to protect her and touch her more. He slowly placed his hand under her chin and made her face him. Her eyes were still sparkling under the moonlight and her tears of thankfulness were running down her cheeks. His mind went blank and slowly approached her in an attempt to kiss her. She knew that so she closed her eyes slowly and waited.

"Hey! YOU TWO! GET THE HELL OUT OF THERE!" an officer screamed at them making them jump away from each. Izaya looked at the officer confused and Cecilia looked down at him before turning to Izaya. Izaya shook his head and ran to the first floor to lock the door. Cecilia glared at the police officer from the darkness trying to hide from him.

"Just a little more…too bad!" she signed and looked at Izaya who returned.

"I locked the door, so he won't enter." he relaxed her.

"Do you think that he saw our faces?" she asked anxious, but she really didn't care anymore.

"Nuh… to dark to see. Well I am leaving! You should leave too. And here are the keys. The old woman lives there." he pointed a house with a blue roof. "Go and find her tomorrow. Have fun with your new house, princess!" Izaya smiled with his usual ignorance and jumped off. The officer noticed him and ran after him leaving Cecilia alone.

"Well… it was nice playing with you Izaya-kun~ I guess I didn't get my goodbye kiss after all..." she giggled sadly and left too.

When she arrived at the hotel she met with Saya to tell her the good news about the house that Izaya found for her and about her moving out soon after she gets a deal with the old lady who owned the house. Saya was very happy to hear that and offered to help her with moving her stuff. And so she did. Cecilia managed to get an even better deal than Izaya with the old lady in exchange of getting good care of the garden of the house and moved in two days later.

"By the way, Cecilia. What about Izaya?" Saya asked her friend while she was drinking tea with her at her new living room.

"Hm? Nothing. I don't need him anymore." Cecilia answered without care.

"I thought that you were friends."

"We are. I mean if he needs anything I won't have any problem helping him but only that. I took everything I wanted from him. He has nothing else to offer me after all. Now I think it's time to make some more friends… this time without an exchange." Cecilia winked at her ex landlord and sat more comfortably on her couch humming happily. Saya looked at her concerned.

"You have changed a lot in those two years, huh?" Saya whispered to herself.

"Huh?"

"Oh… nothing!"

* * *

 ** **Ok! That was it! Well the truth is that i got stuck with either Cecilia should continue using Izaya or not. So i decided to stop as she had anything she wanted. I am not going to revile yet Cecilia's past and Izaya's with Saya's past. Maybe later. But for now let's leave it like that and i will explain it better on the next chap. Cecilia will meet out other characters a little more in the next chapter too! Stay tuned! Thank you for reading! See ya next chapter!****


	5. Chapter 5 - Found Her

****Hello everyone! I am back! Finally!****

 ** **Oh my!**** ** **T**** ** **he previous semester was a living hell! Projects and exams... plus**** ** **I**** ** **lost my inspiration for this one! I**** ** **couldn't think shit!**** ** **I**** ** **was like that for like two to three weeks when finally**** ** **I**** ** **found the light!****

 ** **Plus**** ** **I**** ** **am**** ** **writing**** ** **on the same time a KnB fanfic, and Yuri On Ice fanfic, fixing my Detective Conan fanfic and**** ** **I**** ** **am about to upload and a new Yuri on ice fanfic!**** ** **I**** ** **mean it's crazy! XD But that way**** ** **I**** ** **am uploading a little faster that**** ** **I**** ** **did with my DC fanfic in the past.****

 ** **Now let me thank you guys for reading this story and****

Thank you ****Gisolei**** **,** ** **ksbKipper1998**** **,** ** **Juvia Hanaka **** for favoring and following my story, it means a lot to me! ^_^

And thank you ****AniStar13**** for following the story, it means a lot to me.

 ** **(plus**** ** **I**** ** **lost some fav/fol, sorry guys... but RIP me XD )****

 ** **Thank you again everyone for still being here!****

 ** **I hope you will enjoy the new chap! ^_^****

* * *

 ** **Chapter 5****

 ** **Found Her****

December came and snow along with it. It was a strange phenomenon for Ikebukuro to see so much snow non stop. Cecilia's work started to become harder so her boss decided to close the company for a few days. One of her days off she went to Russian Sushi to hang out with Erica and the rest of the gang.

When she entered the restaurant and walked in, she looked around looking for her friends.

"Oh! Cecilia! Welcome!" Denis smiled at her as she was approaching the counter.

"Hallo! Is Erica here?" she asked him cheerfully. He shook his head negatively and offered her a seat to wait for them. While she was waiting Shizuo and Varona entered the restaurant and sat at the counter having Cecilia between them.

"Oh! Welcome back!" Cecilia smiled at both of them. Shizuo waved at her and Varona bowed her head.

"Good Afternoon, Cecilia-san." she said in her usual serious matter. Cecilia smiled at her and continued to look around to pass her time until Erica comes. Her eyes fell on Varona again and smiled at herself remembering the way they became friends.

It was an usual day for Cecilia as she was jumping from building to building when Shizuo almost hit her again with a vending machine. Cecilia had enough and was ready to fight Shizuo, but Varona took his place so she fought her instead. So they fought until they both couldn't move anymore. At the end of the day they analogized each others strength and a bond of mutual respect formed that day.

Cecilia looked at Shizuo next to her. He was a good and gentle guy. He would even apologize to her every time he was seeing her on the street, before saying hello, thinking that he might have almost hit her again, as she was on the street instead of the roofs. It was awkward but she really enjoyed it. After all he was so cute when he was apologizing while shattering.

She giggled alone and checked her phone. Erica hadn't mail her anything so their meeting was still on.

Cecilia and the gang became friends after a crazy ride she and they had one night. Cecilia was returning from her work when a crazy dude with a blue scarf appeared in front of her. He wanted her to spend the night with him. She looked at him disgusted but refused politely and continued her way but he didn't give up so he started to stalk her. Day after day he would follow her along with a new guy with a blue scarf every time. A week later at least 7 to 10 guys were following her around the city. Cecilia knew that tactic so she never got to her house during that week, but when she saw like 10 guys after her she started to get worried. It was weird. Why would they go after her specifically. Was someone else doing all this? Was actually someone behind them? She decided to ask them directly so she stopped walking and turned to face them. They started to surround her dangerously, smiling creepily. She shook her head to clear her mind and asked them why they were after her. They only laughed and came closer as she got in fighting position ready to fight them all. Then it was when the unexpected happened. A van appeared all of a sudden and broke through them sending half of them flying. The door opened and Erica came out smiling victorious with Walker and they dragged Cecilia into the car closing the door behind them with Kadota racing the car away.

Cecilia was confused at the beginning as she hadn't spoke to any of them, only Erica once, so saving her was out of question. She looked at them terrified but Erica's smile assured her that everything would be ok. Cecilia just smiled and waited for them to explain the situation.

Apparently they were considering her a friend, and they never let a friend to get hurt. That touched Cecilia deeply and promised to herself to never let them get hurt in any way possible. They took her away from those guys and Cecilia stayed at Erica's house for a few days until it was again safe for her to go home. From that day on she started to hang out with them. She really loved their company.

"So, Cecilia. You don't work today?" Shizuo spoke getting Cecilia out of her memories. She smiled at him and shook her head.

"Have you seen the snow outside? It's crazy!" she joked and continued to look at the door. She was waiting for her friends to arrive but instead of them a guy with orange to red hair and green eyes entered the restaurant terrified. Cecilia's eyes widened open as she followed the figure walking towards them. She immediately got up and walked towards the newcomer. Shizuo and Varona turned around watching her. She stopped in front of the guy, grabbed his arm violently dragging him out of the restaurant and at the small alley next to it.

"Alex? What are you doing here? How did you come here? Why?" she started to throw questions at him worried. He was supposed to be in Yogsai-City. He shouldn't be here. No, he couldn't be here. No one could just leave that city. If you tried to even set a foot outside the borders they would shoot you and kill you at that very spot.

"Cecilia!" he said enthusiastically. Cecilia took a step back.

"How do you know my new name?"

"Saya!"

"You went to Saya? Why? How!?"

"Why don't we go to talk more privately?" the other guy suggested smiling at her. She nodded and she drove him to her house. She was trusting him, he had helped her a lot back in Yogsai-City and he was the one who helped her escape from there somehow. She shouldn't be afraid of him betraying her, right?

"Cecilia… I like this name! It's unique! I couldn't even imagine it. You have imagination!" Alex smiled like an idiot as he sat on a bench at a random park with Cecilia next to him. Cecilia had a bad feeling about her old friend. She couldn't decided if she could trust him or not, so she decided to not take him at her house. A random park where she could escape would be good.

"So, Alex… why are you here?" she asked calmed and smiling. She had to show him that she was ok with all that. She wasn't. Alex blinked.

"Oh yes! Dragon is after you, you know!" (not from One piece)

"Why?" she asked concerned.

"Why you ask. It has been half a year my friend! He wants the ring!" Alex said puzzled.

"I see… well tell him that I don't have it. I didn't find it… Izaya doesn't have it." Cecilia said bored. Alex blinked surprised a few times trying to comprehend what his friend just told him.

"What do you mean he doesn't have it?"

"You heard me. He doesn't have it! There was nowhere in his apartment." Cecilia continued calmly. Alex grid his teeth with anger and got up to walk nervously up and down in front of her.

"Cecilia you know very well that Dragon holds you, right? He is the one who set up your death back there. If you don't do what he is telling you he will let them know that you are here, alive and kicking and they will come after you! You have too many enemies back there!" Alex's soft tone hardened at his last words.

"I know that, but I told you. Izaya doesn't have any kind of ring in his apartment."

Alex didn't seem to be convinced. He crossed his arms in front of his chest and signed heavily. Cecilia didn't really care about the whole thing. She tried and she failed, end of story.

"Cecilia?" he asked with a weird tone. She looked at him with wide open eyes as she hadn't hear him speak like that before. "Are you sure that you didn't find the ring?"

She raised her eyebrows angry. She was known as the most honest person when it came to her work and he dared to question her like that.

"Ok I am sorry, I didn't mean to offend you, I-"

"You have no right to question me like that. Who you think that you are?" Cecilia growled boiling with anger. She had lost her job and pride when she accepted that job, but she wouldn't allow lowlifes like him to speak to her like that.

Alex felt her anger and took some steps back.

"I will tell him. Chill!" Alex said annoyed. "Fucking bitch!" he groaned and started to walk away. Cecilia then realized that Alex wasn't there as a friend but an employ to check upon her. She knew that her time was coming and he came to announced it. Once he was lost into the darkness she left too for her house. On her way her phone rang. It was Erica.

"Hello?"

"Cici! Are you ok?" Erica was heard from the other side of the line worried.

"Yes, I am fine…"

"I was so worried! We were late, yes we are sorry! And when we finally arrived you weren't there and we asked the boss about you and he said that you left with a suspicious man and we were worried about you! Where are you?"

"I am going home..."

"Have you eaten anything?"

"No..."

"Ok! We are coming over! We will meet you at your house!" and with that Erica hanged up and Cecilia smiled sadly. She had to enjoy her last days.

* * *

Alex left Cecilia with a heavy heart. He had screwed up. He went to find her to help her and not to make her angry. He shouldn't question her. He knew her all the way back in Yogsai-City. He knew that when it was to her job she was ruthless with no mercy. She used to be such a happy girl, who had dreams for the future, until the city got completely corrupted. People are getting killed and raped everyday in the streets, gangs are controlling parts of the city and they fight everyday. You can see the victims of those wars lay down on the street or get eaten by the stray dogs and cats. That city reeks blood and anger. People to survive do whatever they can. They kill, they steal, they even rape. That is what Yogsai-City is anymore. A city of sin.

That is what he and she had to do. They had to stay alive. So they threw themselves at the sinful way of living. She became an information broker and who else what more.

He started to work for that evil old man, called Dragon. Dragon was an old man who was partly responsible for the destruction of the city. Alex was the one who brought Cecilia in touch with Dragon. He wanted to find a fucking ring and she was the best information broker in the city. He regretted it immediately but he couldn't stop it anymore as Cecilia accepted his offer.

 _ _Find me this ring and I shall grand you freedom, or else death shall fall upon you.__ He said to her. And she accepted without a second thought.

Alex was lost in his thoughts when he finally arrived in front of an old warehouse and pushed the door aside to enter. There he saw a bunch of dudes wearing blue scarfs laughing and drinking. He ignored them and walked towards his leader.

"Alex! Welcome back! Well? How did it go?" his leader, named Shou, asked him.

"She didn't have it. She said that Izaya doesn't have any kind of ring in his possession." Alex answered with not a convincing tone. Shou didn't like what he heard at all.

"I see… and you believed her?" he asked him again. Alex formed a punch with his hand and tried to keep his calm.

"No..." he answered cursing himself mentally for betraying her like that.

The leader smiled and turned towards a boy who was sitting behind them and listening the whole time.

"You heard him, Aoba. Our girl is protecting your target. How romantic, don't you think?" Aoba smiled hearing that and shook his head disapproving an action like this. Alex's leader continued.

"Now that we know who are our targets we can continue right?"

Aoba nodded and continued."But first let's wait for Izaya to return. He is currently out of town."

The new guy agreed and laughed.

"That way we can have Cecilia have a small melt down as she will be waiting for her death to arrive!"

Alex felt his stomach twisting from disgust towards himself.

"Shou… we both know her. She would never lie about her job..." Alex said weakly.

Shou turned at him.

"So? She isn't anymore at Yogsai-City, Alex. She is free. She can leave happily and be in love, Alex-kun~ People change!" his tone betrayed his mood. It was murderous. Alex got scared and shut up. He knew that he couldn't speak anymore or else his head would be flying.

* * *

It stopped snowing after a few days so Cecilia returned to her job like nothing had happened. She never said anything to Erica and her friends. She wanted to talk to Saya about Alex, about her deal with Dragon, about everything as she was from the same city and she would understand, but she thought that Saya would actually go against Dragon herself and get herself killed. So she stayed quiet.

From the night Alex visited her she had a bad feeling. She even started to have nightmares again about her past, making her unable to sleep. Every night she would walk up and down to calm herself and at the end she stopped sleeping. She was sleeping during her job hoping that her boss would not find out. She was afraid. Not for her life but about the people around her. Dragon was known for his inhuman ways. As the days were passing without anyone from Dragon coming after her, her anxiety was growing even more. She knew that she wouldn't get off that easily as she failed to deliver her promise. She had to accept her fate. She was dead. She played and she lost. Easy like that. Wasn't that the deal? Find the ring or else die?

* * *

Christmas was at the corner. Still no trace of Dragon. Even if Cecilia loved Christmas, she knew that this year's Christmas would be hell. She was feeling alone and exhausted from all the worry. She wanted someone to speak. She wanted someone to share her secrets and her anxiety. It was too much to lie to her friends every time they were asking her if she was ok or to feel scared for them every time they were saying goodbye.

So she started to walk inside the city. She needed to calm down and breath some fresh air. She didn't know where she was but she just kept walking into the dark alleys without care. She could hear her boots echoing into the alleys when she started to hear more steps around her until she was completely surrounded by some dudes. She looked at them looking at her with some nasty way and she brace herself for combat.

They all had knives and metallic pipes in their hands making Cecilia feel really uncomfortable and cursed their fucking timing. They were all at the age of twenty and older and they were wearing blue scarfs. She had seen those scarfs before.

"You belong to a gang?" she asked in disbelief.

"Of course nee-chan! What? You don't know about us? We are the Blue Squares!" a guy answered proudly.

"I guess you aren't that much of a big deal, because I have never heard of you!" Cecilia got in a fighting position while mocking them.

"Hahaha! Hey! this girl thinks that she can mock us and then fight us! Sorry honey! But we have some business with you! You don't mind coming with us, right?" one of the guys said.

"And what if I say no?" she asked bitterly when an other guy attacked her from behind, hitting her head with a pipe and letting her fall on the floor.

"Well then, that happens!" the first guy laughed as they started to hit and kick her until she was unconscious so they could take her with them to their hideout.

* * *

 ** **In the mean time at the hideout of Blue Squares****

Izaya was chained up and sitting on a chair looking amused at the leader of Blue Squares. He had just returned to Ikebukuro after a job and they kidnapped him. He didn't know the reason of all this but he refused to lose his cool. Plus he was tired as hell so he didn't even have the strength or the mood to fight against them. So he let them take him whenever they wanted. He wasn't surprised at all when he found himself at the blue squares hideout. But he was surprised when they sat him on a chair in the middle of the warehouse and chained him up.

"Wow! Who would have thought! That the brother of the previous leader of Blue Squares is the new boss. May I ask why I am here?" the raven asked tired with this bullshit. Blue squares could just go die all he cared about. The bluehead laughed and approached the raven with a creepy smile.

"Well, I am not happy to see you either, but I have made a very good deal here you see!? There is that gentleman who was looking for ya! He is a very good guy! Mind talking to him?" Aoba grinned widely and walked back to his seat only for an other scarier dude to appear. He was tall with raven long hair and black eyes.

"Do we know each other?" Izaya asked trying to lighten the atmosphere but he received a punch for an answer. He felt blood dripping from his nose to the floor.

'He will pay for that.' he thought and tried to take a hold of himself.

"Nope but I believe that we can get to know each other pretty well if you want!" he hissed evilly and he approached his face closer to Izaya's, noses almost touching. Izaya singed.

"No thank you. So? You need my services? If yes you could just give me a call."

The other guy snorted and laughed. The dudes from the blue square laughed with him.

"Ok ok… enough…. Time for business." the guy said and walked away.

"My name is Shou. I am here under the orders of my boss, Dragon. You have something that he wants. A beautiful ring."

Izaya lost his smile.

"No. I don't know anything about it." Izaya answered and received one more punch. That one cause more blood loss than before. He couched and tried to catch his breath. The pain was hitting him directly at his head and his vision started to get blurry.

"It's ok! We have all the night here!" Shou said in a happy tone and got ready to kick Izaya when the door opened and Aoba's men entered the hideout.

"Boss! We brought the girl!" one of the guys said happily and threw the unconscious body of Cecilia on the floor near Izaya. Izaya lost his color when he saw Cecilia covered in blood, cuts and bruises. He clinked his tongue annoyed and glared at Aoba and then at Shou who was staring happily at the girl on the floor.

"Hahahaha! I never expected to see the great 'Manipulator' being all tied up and beaten!" Shou said amused but his words dropped to a dead silence as Cecilia was still unconscious. He got angry and he kicked her at her stomach to wake her up. Izaya watched him astonished with the fact that he would hit a girl like that. He looked at Cecilia and wished she would wake up, but she didn't move. Hell he didn't even know if she was even breathing. Shou spit on the ground and got ready to hit her again.

"Stop it!" Izaya screamed at him. Shou stopped and looked at him angry.

"Huh? Are you protecting her? Hahahaha! What the fuck is wrong with you two, protecting each other? Are you two idiots or something?" Shou hissed and at the end he kicked her again sending her body a few meters away from the first position it was in front of Izaya's legs.

"What do you mean protecting each other? What does she have to do with all that?" Izaya asked confused. Shou looked at him surprised and laughed.

"What? She didn't tell you? Her job was to to find that ring for Dragon! That is why she is here! But she lied and said that you don't have it! So you know… her fate is sealed..." Shou said and stepped on Cecilia's head pointing a gun at her head.

"What are you-?" Izaya tried to unchain him self moving his body around. Aoba was watching him amused while Shou was loading his guns with new bullets.

"Now I am feeling better! I can finally kill that bitch! She caused me so many problems in the past!" Shou smirked and pointed his gun at her head once again and ready to shoot. Izaya glared at the two men in front of him.

"Well now you have them both! I guess my job is over, right?" Aoba smiled and got up. "Please, when you finish them, clean up. I don't want to have blood on my floor."

Shou nodded. Izaya manged to get closer to Shou and he kicked him hard at his leg. Shou cried with pain and he glued the end of his gun at Izaya's face cursing him.

"You son of bitch, you are lucky Dragon wants you or else you would be also dead!"

Izaya kept looking at Cecilia. She wasn't moving. She wasn't breathing.

'Is she dead?'

His mind was cloudy. He didn't know what to feel. He was tired, he was hurt, he was angry. He had lost lots of blood, he had a gun at his face and he had an unconscious Cecilia hurt and bloody at his feet. They were both useless in front of that guy. He was useless and couldn't think.

Then something unexpected happened. The dudes from the blue square started to fly. Izaya tried to look behind him to see who it was.

"CCCOORRAAAA! WHERE IS SSSHHEEEE?" an angry voice was heard. Izaya recognized it immediately and it was the first time he felt so relieved that that monster had came to kick some ass. Shizuo came with Varona after hearing some rumors about blue squares kidnapping a girl. After a few minutes Shizuo and Varona were next to Izaya and in front of Aoba and Shou.

"Oi! Flea! Is it one of your plans?" Shizuo asked him irritated and ready to kill when he saw Cecilia on the floor. Izaya shook his head and thanked Varona who unchained him with a single move. Izaya knelled down to Cecilia and got her bridal style.

"Varona go with that damned flea and make sure Cecilia is safe! I will take care of those two idiots here! They didn't only hurt a girl, they hurt a friend. They are dead, damn it!" he screamed and rushed towards the two enemies.

Varona nodded and drove Izaya with Cecilia in his arms out of the warehouse. There was a familiar car parked and four figures waiting patiently.

"Dota-chin! How pleasant to see you." Izaya smiled.

The four of them gasped shocked when they saw Izaya with Cecilia in his arms.

"Cut the crap Izaya and get into the car!" Kadota hissed and the six of them entered the car leaving Varona to return to Shizuo. Izaya guided Kadota to drive them to one of his other apartments in Ikebukuro. Once there Kadota carried Cecilia to the apartment and Izaya called Shinra to come over.

The apartment was smaller than his main one, as it had one room with kitchen living room and the bedroom together and a separate bathroom. They laid Cecilia on the bed. Erica took Cecilia's keys and ran to her apartment along with Walker and Saburo to bring her clothes as Izaya said he would keep her there.

Shinra came with Celty some time later. Izaya sat at the kitchen table with Kadota and Celty watching Shinra fixing Cecilia. Then Kadota's phone rang.

"It's from Shizuo. He took care of them. I doubt they will come after you again." he announced but Izaya didn't seem to believe that.

"She is badly hurt. They broke her nose and lots of bones. Also they might have caused internal damage to her stomach too. If she started couching blood we will have to take her to the hospital." Shinra announced a few hours later. By that time Erica had returned and with Celty's help they changed Cecilia's clothes to some pajamas. Of course first they had send all the boys to the balcony so they couldn't see Cecilia naked. When they came inside again they all sat at the kitchen table again. After Shinra's speech, everyone looked at Izaya for answers.

"I don't know." he only answered leaving them completely unsatisfied. They saw that he wasn't willing to speak and that he wasn't himself, quite unusual for someone like Izaya. They gave up and left the apartment. Shinra promised that he will be coming everyday to check up on her.

* * *

 ** **The same night at the other side of Ikebukuro.****

"Boss! We have a problem!" a young man dressed in black ran at one of the suits of an expensive hotel. He stopped in front of an older man and bowed deep. The old man looked at him concerned and asked him to speak.

"We just came back from the 'meeting'. Shou and his man are very badly injured! The boss of the blue squares is also missing."

The old man groaned angrily.

"What happened?" he asked annoyed.

"Boss! A man dressed in bartender's clothes came in, along with a blond woman and attacked them! They are all out cold..."

"What about Izaya and the 'Manipulator'?" the old man asked concerned.

"They are gone. We lost them. We don't know where they are… we are sorry boss." the man apologized trembling, fearing for his life. The old man signed disappointed.

"Call Alex! Send him to find them both! I want Izaya alive and the 'Manipulator' dead! Enough with all this bullshit!"

"Yes boss!" the man said and rushed out of the room as fast as he could.

The old man rested on his chair and grabbed a cigar. One of his servant lightened it up and stepped back.

"Boss… what is that ring that you care so much about?"

"It's a cursed ring." the old man answered and let the smoke out of his mouth. "I need it no matter what."

* * *

 ** **Ok! We learned some more things about why Cecilia is in Ikebukuro! At the next chap we will learn the story more clearly so don't worry if you are confused! I try to not make Izaya to much out-of-character, so if you don't like something be free to tell me! ^_^****

 ** **See ya next chapter! ^_^****


	6. Chapter 6 - Heal

****Finally! The chapter is over! This chapter killed me. I wrote it and rewrote it again and again f** **or** **like two weeks straight.** **I** **couldn't make up my mind. I really hope that you will like it because** **I** **am at lost here!****

 ** **My biggest problem was Izaya.**** ** **I**** ** **was trying to not make him get out of character.**** ** **I**** ** **hope that**** ** **I**** ** **managed to do that, but**** ** **I**** ** **believe that**** ** **I**** ** **made him a little out of character. Please forgive me!****

 ** **But**** ** **I**** ** **really need your opinions about Izaya's character.**** ** **I**** ** **f there is something you don't like about his personality or if i get out of character a lot and you don't like it, please inform me.****

 ** **Also!****

 ** **The chapter contains lemon. So for anyone who is not in the mood, can just jump that part. You won't loose anything important. :P****

 ** **Thank you for still sticking with me here!****

Also thank you ** **marcelineandbonnie**** ****and **** ** **AniStar13**** ****for following the story it means a lot to me! ^_^

 ** **Please enjoy!****

* * *

 ** **Chapter 6****

 ** **Heal****

Rumors…

 _ _"Ne ne! Did you hear? The Blue Squares are back!"__

 _ _"Eh? Really?"__

 _ _"Yeah! And they say that they kidnapped a girl last night!"__

 _ _"Ehhh? How do you know that?"__

 _ _"Someone saw them carrying her away. The poor thing!"__

 _ _"Oh my…"__

 _ _"But I heard that Shizuo went there!"__

 _ _"Ehh? Yay!"__

Those and lot's of other rumors were heard around Ikebukuro the next morning.

"Hey! Is Cecilia ok?" Shizuo asked Celty during their meeting at a park.

[Yes! She is at one of Izaya's apartments. But she is badly hurt...] Celty answered in a hurry sadly.

"Those bastards! Hurting women because they are weak! I will kill them!" he hissed annoyed making Celty to laugh as he had already kick their asses last night.

* * *

 ** **At the same time at the other side of**** ** **Ikebukuro**** ** **.****

"Saki-san..." Anri looked at her friends troubled face when they heard the rumors.

"Anri-chan… they are cruel. I hope that she is ok..." said the worried girl looking outside the window and remembering her own experience.

"Yes… but I heard that Shizuo-san went to her rescue. I bet that she is ok now." Anri tried to calm her friend. Saki looked at her sadly.

"Is she?"

"Eh?"

* * *

 ** **Sushi Bar****

"Hm… rumors sure spread fast, huh?" Kadota noticed amazed when Simon asked them if they knew something about it.

"It was Cecilia-chan that girl!" Saburo said in an over dramatic way. Dennis turned around brutally and looked at them worried.

"Is she alive?" he asked.

"Eh? Yes… she is with Izaya..." Erica answered with a thumbs up.

"Don't tell about her location to anyone else!" Dennis warned them and went back to his cooking. He felt that her being attacked had something to do with Yogsai-City. It wasn't the first time a kid from there being attacked and killed in the first year of his arrival. The four looked at him confused but agreed with him.

* * *

 ** **At one of Izaya's Apartments****

Izaya woke up from a continuous knock on his door. He found himself having the upper half of his body on the bed and the under half on the floor. He got up feeling pain all over his body, especially his back and neck and looked around. He was next to Cecilia's body. He stood all night above her, staring at her like he was fearing that she would stop breathing at any moment. At the end he must have fallen asleep too. He groaned from the lack of sleep and brought himself to the door. It was Shinra who came to check on Cecilia as he had promised.

"Oh my! Izaya-kun, you look like hell!" Shinra whistle as he entered the apartment with Celty following him. Izaya didn't answer but followed them like a ghost. Shinra started to examine Cecilia to see that half of her injuries had healed.

"This isn't normal..." Shinra told himself.

"What it isn't normal?" Izaya asked from behind him half asleep.

"Almost all her injuries have been healed. Did she woke up at all?" he turned to Izaya. The raven shook his head. Celty came closer to the girl and touched her only to jump back scared.

[She… she isn't human… she is something else… she… she has some strange vibes around her!] Celty took some more steps away from the girl. Shinra went to calm his girlfriend down and Izaya sat next to Cecilia. He took her hair away from her face to see her better. It was true, the bruises on her face were all gone. Shinra approached her again holding a sharp knife.

"What are you doing?" Izaya asked feeling uncomfortable at the view of the knife.

"I am testing something." Shinra answered and took Cecilia's hand in his. He cut her slowly letting the warm blood stain her white skin and waited. A few minutes later the cut started to heal very slowly and the blood had been vaporized.

[Is she a vampire?] Celty wrote with the speed of light. Shinra chuckled and dismissed that possibility.

"It seems that we have an other monster in our gang. I bet that until tomorrow she will be all healed and ready to go. But I will come by again." the doctor smiled at Izaya and got a small bottle out.

"And what is this?" Izaya raised an eyebrow.

"I am going to take some blood for examination of course! This is a rare opportunity you know!" Shinra explained.

"I refuse." Izaya was cold and sharp. Shinra stared at him lost.

"What?"

"I said no. I have some business with my kawaii Lia-chan. I can't have you or anyone get her for experiments or tests. So keep your mouth shut for now and your hands off!" Izaya spat angrily making both the doctor and the rider to look at him astonished and their mouths to drop. They didn't have time to think as Izaya's stare was getting harder and harder by every second so they agreed without asking any questions.

"Ok… but at least tell us what happened yesterday before we go." Shinra demanded and Izaya told them everything. When he was done he threw them out of the apartment as he was unwilling to answer any questions.

Izaya sat more comfortably next to the injured girl and his expression softened when he met her sleeping face. The fact that she wasn't human explained some things, like that time with the ambulance as she had made that dude listen to her. But it was weird. He was supposed to feel excited or disgusted or not interested in her at all like he does with Celty. She wasn't human so he couldn't love her like the rest. But why he was feeling so uncomfortable? Why he was so interested in her.

Maybe because she managed to trick him? Or because of her abilities?

He had mixed feelings about the girl next to him. He didn't know if she was a friend or foe. He didn't know anything about her or her past or her goals and ambitions. She was a stranger. Yet something was pulling him closer to her and unknown feelings were coming on the surface of his cold heart. Feelings he had sealed away years ago. He caressed her hair lightly for some time until he drew himself out of his thoughts.

He got up and went to take a shower to calm his head and think straight. His head was foggy and his body stiff. He let the water fall on his body trying to let it take everything out of his mind. He wanted to have a clear mind so he could think and put everything in a right order when he was to face Cecilia. He had to be prepared and he needed to be able to think straight.

After the shower he got dressed and left the apartment to take some air. He made sure that no one was following him and left.

"Dragon. That asshole found me." Izaya murmured under his breath annoyed. But he had to see that coming eventually. Dragon isn't that much of an idiot and can tell the difference between a fake and a real ring. Well it took him some decades though.

"Curse him…" Izaya cursed himself and tried to recall last night's events. Dragon send Cecilia to find the ring, so she came to Ikebukuro to find him but she failed. Dragon didn't like that so he send an other dude, Shou, to finish the job by killing her and taking the real ring himself. That is and why he wanted him alive. They didn't know where the ring was so they needed him.

That gave him a small smile and a big boost at his ego. He really enjoyed the fact that he was wanted and that he was important.

He continued to walk in Ikebukuro until he found himself in front of Saya's hotel. He walked in and waved at the owner who wasn't so happy seeing him there. He asked her to speak in private so she drove him at her room where they could speak in peace.

"You want to know more about Cecilia?" she asked him raising an eyebrow not liking his interest at all. She offered him some green tea and she sat at the other side of the table. Izaya nodded with a small smile.

"Why?" she asked suspicious.

"Let me get straight to the point. Does Cecilia ever mentioned to you the names Dragon or Shou?"

Saya almost dropped her cup when she heard those two names. Izaya noticed that and glued his eyes on her face and body language. Saya was shocked. She didn't expect Izaya or Cecilia to have to do anything with those two.

"It seems that you know them too." he said amused.

"I… I do know about them. They are dangerous. How do you know them?" she asked worried.

"They are after me, and apparently Lia-chan too." he took a sip of his cup slowly watching Saya's every move. Saya was nervous.

"Are... are they here?" she asked trembling.

"Indeed. They even caught me and Lia yesterday night. They beat us alright." Izaya answered honestly.

"Is Cecilia ok?"

"Yes. She is at one of my apartments, safe. Now tell me." Izaya assured her.

Saya breathed again and looked down for a while before she spoke again.

"You know that I am from Yogsai-City. I left that city to find a new life… Cecilia did the same. Dragon… When Dragon came to Yogsai-City it was when the city started to become a living hell. He managed to become one of the rulers there, I don't know how. He is terrible. He has killed many people, lots of my friends too. He offers your freedom with exchange something impossible and then he kills you..."

"And how does he know Lia?" Izaya asked her again.

"I can't really tell you because I don't know. You better ask Cecilia about it. It's her past after all. But… why is he after you?" she looked up at him.

"That… that is my story too. You haven't told me yours to tell you mine, Saya-chan!" Izaya smirked making Saya smile. Izaya got up, knowing that the conversation was over as Saya couldn't tell him more about Cecilia. He walked past her but a new question popped in his mind and turned back at her.

"Shou called her manipulator. Why?"

Saya jumped and smiled sadly. Izaya couldn't see her smile as he was facing her back now.

"If she ever speaks to you about her past you have to know that your life won't be the same and your safety won't be granted either." her voice was steady and serious. Izaya could tell that Cecilia's past would be dark and not pleasing but that was more thrilling than he expected.

"I am interested in her, and I am willing to gamble." he smirked and satisfied left the hotel.

"Please… take care of her..." Saya talked to herself as she watched him walk away from her window.

* * *

 ** **Christmas****

When Cecilia finally woke up it was Christmas. She got up completely worn out and covered in sweat. She knew that those were the symptoms of a long and painful recovery. After all, after that 'accident' she had, her body stopped working like it used to.

She looked around her to see where she was. It was morning and the sun was coming inside the apartment from an open window letting her have a better view of her surroundings. She didn't recognize the apartment. She blinked a few times and tried to recall what happened before she fall to her recovery mode. She remember kicking the asses of some dudes but then they kicked her ass. She felt disappointed with her letting them beat her up. She noted mentally to start training more intensely so something like that wont be repeated.

Then she felt her legs heavy. She looked at them and saw someone with raven hair sleeping on them. He looked familiar. His smell was familiar too. Her instincts started to hit her. It was Izaya.

She smiled faintly as she knew that she could at least trust him from all people and she let her worry leave along with her uneasiness. Her insides calmed down and she left her alarmed mode. She brushed his hair with her hand and placed a light kiss on them smiling.

She didn't want to wake him up so she slowly removed her legs under him and the blanket and got up slowly and as quiet as she could. She looked for clothes and towels and went to take a shower. She was weak, as she had just healed, so her guard would be down but she trusted Izaya so she could be more free around him such like taking a shower without fearing him attacking her. She had done that multiple times before while they were working late at his apartment for his jobs when he was injured.

She stood under the shower for some time to let all her sweat leave her skin and once she felt clean she decided to get dressed, with Izaya's clothes as she couldn't find anything hers, and looked for her cellphone. She found it with her bag on the night table. She tiptoed until there so she wouldn't wake up Izaya and went to the balcony to call Saya.

"Saya… it's me… yes I am fine… I am at Izaya's I guess… he came to you?… I see… yes, I know… thank you… oh yes! Can you send someone with some things that I need? Yes… please write them down..."

She continued to talk and checking at the same time on Izaya. When she ordered the things she wanted she returned to the kitchen to prepare breakfast. She had a feeling that Izaya had helped her a lot so she needed to do something about it and for him to go all the way to Saya to ask about her, he had something in his mind. But it was good knowing that someone had her back. She had missed that feeling. She had missed the feeling of knowing that someone would be there for her when something bad was to happen to her.

While cooking she tried to understand a few things, like what happened, how many days was she out healing, how did he find her, and the most important of all, why Izaya helped her. What did he want from her. She knew his type. She was the same. She couldn't just assume that he helped her because he was considering her as his friend. He didn't. He was acting according to his needs and plans. She had become the same thing. She remembered lots of her past's self mistakes which cost her a lot and lots of people losing their lives too.

Remembering awful events of her past made her have a concerned expression on her face. She continue to chop unconsciously until someone stopped her.

"Here." she heard and saw a glass of water in front of her and a hand on hers, stopping her from chopping. "You will cut your hand. Let it go." She looked at the black haired figure next to her. She took the glass and drank a little helping her relax and let the knife down. When the boy made sure that she was ok on her own he let her.

"You look fine." he said dryly as he walked away stretching his arms.

"I am ok." she said and thanked him for the water. He sat at the table with two cups of coffee and offered her to sit too. She nodded and sat grabbing a cup. They drank in silence looking at each other until Cecilia spoke first.

"Why am I here? What happened, and how many days I was out." she asked in a professional matter. Izaya nodded smirking as he liked the fact that she cut to the chase instead of making excuses. So he told her everything from the beginning until the very end. She heard everything and never commented anything. She was serious and she was sucking in his every word and detail he was giving her. When he finally ended his story she took a deep breath and let her body relax. Izaya took an other sip of his coffee as his throat was dry from all the talking but he almost choke when he heard Cecilia laughing hysterically at the other end of the table. When she managed to calm down, her eyes were empty and disappointed.

"Ah… it was too good to be true after all. He found me!" she said and continued to laugh. Izaya stared at her amused with her way of reacting. Anyone else in her place would got nervous and be covered in fear, but she just laughed. Oh! He loved humans! If she was one.

"You have my thanks Orihara Izaya. No, I own you my life! Of course I have to thank Shizuo and Varona too and Shinra and the guys." she said with a huge smile on her face and continued. "But why?"

"Why what?" he asked like he didn't understand the question.

"You know the reason of me being here, yet you saved me. That is not like you. In your place I would have let me die there." she hummed happily.

"Don't know. Maybe because you managed to fool me. I am impressed to tell you the truth. Also now you just told me that you own me your life. I am very happy to hear that. I can take advantage of it greatly." he smiled innocently. The girl laughed again and got up. She went around the table and stopped by Izaya giving him a small kiss on his cheek and whispering seductively at his ear, "And I will be happy to obey to your every command then!" before walking back to her cooking pleased with the conversation that just took place. Izaya got up too, thrilled with the outcome and found his way to the balcony to call Shinra.

The doctor was delightful when he heard that his patient was finally awake and promised to come by immediately. Izaya hanged up and walked back to the kitchen when he noticed that the clothes she was wearing were his. She was wearing one of his black-jeans with a gray long sleeved blouse. They were a little big for her body but he could still see her body line. He stood by the balcony door and stared at her with crossed arms in front of his chest.

"You are cute with my clothes on. You are a real turn on." he said with his usual cheerful tone. Cecilia giggled and shook her head. "You will not make me fall for you like that, Izaya." she turned around and put the food on the table.

"No need to worry about that." he purred with the most seductive tone he had and spin her around landing her in his arms. She looked at him surprised with the sudden dance move of his and without second thought he picked her up and sat her on the table.

"Wow! That was a good move indeed!" she commented fascinated and pulled him between her legs, wrapping them around his waist. He placed his arms right and left on the table and lean towards her.

His face inches away from hers, their breaths licking their faces sending chills to their systems. They stared at each others eyes hungrily and passionately. Their hearts were beating fast but steady. She smiled at him and brought a piece of fried egg at his mouth. Izaya gasped and looked at the food in front of him and back at the girl. She nodded and he ate it.

"It's good." he exclaimed honestly and grabbed his chopsticks to get more of what he ate. He took the plate and placed it between them. They chuckled as it was stupid but cute and they started to eat.

"Yes. It is good." Cecilia agreed and get one more in her mouth. They kept eating at this awkward position and the rest of the food when the doorbell was heard. Izaya retrieved his self to the door cursing and Cecilia got down, fixed her self and gathered the empty plates into the sink.

It was Shinra with Celty.

"Oh Izaya-kun! We are here!" Shinra said cheerfully and holding a huge bag entered the apartment. Celty followed the doctor but when she saw Cecilia she froze and ran at the other side of the room. Cecilia looked at her confused but just smiled at her and waved.

"Ara ara! Cecilia-san! You are awake! Amazing recovery!" Shinra commented as he approached Cecilia leaving his bag on the table. Cecilia looked at the bag and back at the doctor who was smiling.

"Your girlfriend it seems like she is afraid of me." she said trying to change the subject pointing at Celty who was now on the bed. Shinra looked at the rider too and signed.

"Yes, she is. She is feeling a weird vibe from you recently." Shinra explain exhausted. Izaya walked behind Cecilia and sat on the kitchen counter and stared at them like watching a movie. This was too amusing. Cecilia gave him a disappointed look knowing what he was thinking and walked towards Celty who was frozen.

"I guess you are not a human too, to feel like that, right?" she asked the headless rider. The rider nodded and took her helmet off showing Cecilia her headless body. Cecilia didn't flinch but she smiled.

"A dullahan huh? Amazing! I am honored to meet one." She smiled and offered her hand. Celty hesitated but gave hers too. When they shook hands Celty felt all her fear and uneasiness to be lifted away from her heart and a warm feeling to blow up inside of her. She looked at Cecilia astonished as her smoke was creating hearts.

"Hahaha… it seems like you liked me." Cecilia smiled at her and turned around to the boys. "It's true, I am not human. In a matter of fact I am half a siren." she said and smiled. Celty jumped from Shinra's sparkling eyes.

"You… you… you eat humans too?" Shinra asked really interested.

Cecilia laughed and shook her head negatively. Shirna didn't lose his cool and started to throw at her every possible question he had in any field, from medical to physiological. The rest of the morning was passed like that, having Celty and Izaya listen to Shinra asking non-stop questions to Cecilia and her answering without getting bored. Izaya caught himself staring at the female siren when a single question caught his attention.

"Is it true that a siren can make men fall for her instantly?"

Izaya thought about it. It could be a logical reason as to why he was attracted to her, sometimes and why he was so close as to kiss her, because deep down he knew that he was hitting on her not because he wanted to use her and he was trying to brush it off.

Cecilia looked at Izaya straight in his eyes and answered like she was speaking to him.

" You are maybe confusing siren with mermaids. We use our voice and songs to seduce. Well we don't sing anymore, we use specific tones of our voice to make the other listen to our commands. Mermaids from the other side, they use their charms and beauty to seduce whoever they want." she smiled and winked at Izaya.

He smirked, mentally scratching the question he had about her making the driver of the ambulance follow her commands. He sat back more comfortably and sipped his coffee smiling at the girl, not taking his eyes off her. She actually did the same. She was staring directly at his brown eyes, melting at every small move he was doing to take his bangs away from his eyes. Shinra kept asking questions and she kept answering without losing focus on him and Izaya.

Finally after some more questions Shinra felt satisfied with the information he gathered for sirens and asked for Cecilia's blood for more research which she refused kindly. The doctor shifted his view to his old friend. The information broker just raised his cup to him. "Izaya-kun!" he complaint and rush to his side.

In the meantime Celty was exchanging numbers with Cecilia.

"Will you please inform Erica and the rest that I am ok? I have a feeling that you know them."

[Yes! I know them! I also know Shizuo and Varona. Should I inform them too?]

"Yes please! Thank them too. I own them all greatly. Thank you very much!" Cecilia bowed deeply at her making the rider to blush and let thick smoke to escape from her head of embarrassment.

[Oh! Saya-san told me to bring you those… here] Celty gave a bag to Cecilia. Cecilia thanked her and asked her about her payment. Saya had already paid.

Shinra gave up so he took Celty and left waving at them on their way out.

Some time passed with complete silence in the apartment. The only thing you could hear was the clock ticking and the curtains fly cause of the weak air which was entering from the window. Cecilia was sitting now on the bed and Izaya on a chair next to the kitchen table. It was almost three and the weather started to get darker. The two was looking at each other without saying anything.

"You don't want to ask me anything?" Cecilia broke the silence first. It was weird for him to not ask her anything about Dragon or her being a siren or whatever. The raven nodded and got up from his chair to sit next to her on the bed.

"I have indeed lots of questions. But the most important is, are you willing to answer them?" he asked in a husky voice as he cupped her cheek coming closer. She closed her eyes and smiled.

"Hm~? I don't know~ It depends on you. Are you willing to be burned by my past?" she sang and she gave him a small peck on his lips.

"I am." he answered determined and hungrily kissed her lips while wrapping his arm around her waist bringing her closer to him. She let him take charge for now and followed his lead by kissing him back and letting his tongue to enter her mouth to explore her every spot and play with hers.

He caught that opportunity and literately attacked her mouth making her moan with every lick in hers. Her moans were like music in his ears. They were turning him on, dangerously. He could feel himself starting to get harder and feeling hotter. He gently pushed her on the bed with him on top of her and broke the kiss to breath. Cecilia was all red and hot breathing heavily beneath him.

"You are really good kisser. That was a pleasant surprise." she teased him by squeezing his cheeks between her hands. He captured her left hand in his and kissed it softly.

"I am good at everything. Wanna see?" he stared at her from above while licking his lips seductively and looking like a wolf ready to devour his lunch. She whistle amazed and really excited for what was about to follow. After all the good in life and aggressive in bed was her type and she found one just the way she wanted him. She ran her fingers above his blouse until his belt and under it all the way to his chest.

"What do you have in mind?" she giggled and started to draw circles with her finger on his chest under his blouse getting up a little. She knew quite well what he had in his mind. They were in the same page after all. This was the perfect chance for both of them. A bond which they could use on each other in the future. A 'game over' as they would tell in the language of manipulation. Having sexual relationships with anyone only to draw information was the lowest thing an information broker could do, it was actually unacceptable for any good and self respectful information broker.

But this was different. Information brokers were tend to use the sexual relationships in order to use someone, to whom they are attractive most of the time, so they could collect massive information and not for one time, but constant use. Also for personal use, such like jobs, favors and stuff. Having sex with someone, victim, who was willing to give himself to them was considered a game over, which meant absolute control over the victim.

Both of them had done that in the past so now having sex with each other was not such a big deal.

'Its not a big deal, right?' they both thought as they stared at each other awkwardly. They both knew what and why they were going to do, but what they were afraid of was that at the end they would end up being the one who is going to used, the victim. They continued to stare at each other sexy and existed.

"Ok, lets just have sex and then we talk again." Cecilia offered tiredly.

"Ok. Just sex. Nothing more." Izaya agreed nodding and fall on her. They took off their clothes quickly and threw them on the floor. Izaya got his time to admire her body.

"Is something wrong?" she asked him.

"Nope." he sang and got back to business. He started to kiss her mouth and lick the base of her neck ready to dive his teeth in her skin. She hissed from the sudden pain and he started to suck his bite to take the pain away. When he was satisfied with his mark on her he ran his tongue all the way down to her private parts and used his tongue in a very delicate way to please her making her moan and gasp with his technique. She could feel her every move and her every arc inside her. Her orgasm came a little after.

"Damn you are good… wow..." she managed to say when he got her to climax. Izaya smirked satisfied and started to finger her so he could enter her as he was already hard and aching from her moans. He lined him self and pushed his member into her womanhood gently, enjoying her every noise and breath she was taking to compose her self so she could accept him more easily. The sensation inside of her felt heavenly for him and a little painful for her.

"Would you mind being a little gentle? Haven't done that for a long time..." she admitted embarrassed as she could feel her insides being spread more from his growing length. It was too much too handle after all this time. When was the last time she had sex? A year ago?

A sudden move of Izaya's dick broke her thoughts and looked at him angrily.

"I am here, and I am the one who is inside of you, so give me some attention." Izaya groaned above her as he moved his member back slowly and back in again making her let a loud voice of pain mixed with pleasure. Cecilia wrapped her arms and legs around him and brought him in a kiss in order to get distracted until the pain leaves. The raven kissed her back hungrily, almost eating her. He was biting her lips and sucking her tongue while thrusting in her in a slow pace to not hurt her but to also keep her mind concentrated in him and the pleasure he was giving her. His pace started to grow as he couldn't control him self anymore, braking the kiss and thrusting in her faster and harder aiming to get deeper in her.

"More… Izaya give me more!" she begged as she was clinging onto the bed sheets trying to get her thoughts straight from the pleasure, pain went away like a fucking bird. He dragged her up, making her sit on his lap and pushing himself deeper. She felt that and tighten more around him.

"Damn, you get tighter. You like it that much so you won't let me go?" he teased her and gave her neck butterfly kisses making her melt to his every touch. She moaned pleased and slammed her lips on his.

"Don't stop! Show me how good you are! Or is that all you got? Because you didn't find my spot yet. I am starting to get disappointed here."

Shots fired. She hit his ego and she hurt him good. Enough to make him forget that he was a gentleman and wish to destroy her there and then. He smirked, he grabbed her ass cheeks and moved his member inside her with force. She let a loud cry escape her, and buried her face at the base of his neck. He moved slowly out of her and entered her again with the same force. She cried again and left her body fell back with her boobs bouncing in front of him. He didn't play with them at the beginning and he thought that it was a good time to make her more crazy for him. He captured her one nipple and started to suck while fucking her non-stop.

Her mind started to get cloudy from the pleasure he was giving her as he was hitting deep inside of her until he found her sweet spot and her mind went blank for a while with the company of an ecstatic cry.

"Found it~" Izaya said with a winner's smile and laid her once again on the bed slowly so he could see her heat up face and expressions. She wasn't embarrassed or angry, she was actually smiling. His eyes widened in surprise and chuckled. How could a woman who wasn't human be so interesting?

'Izi~~ I am at my limit!" she sang and pulled him closer to her kissing his nose playfully.

"Me too… lets enjoy it then!" he promised and started to thrust again, making sure to hit he sweat spot so he could hear her voice calling his name begging him for more.

"Where..?" he asked her as he could feel his orgasm coming closer.

"Inside… I want to get everything from you!" she said straight in his face making him blush momentary before locking her lower part near his by grabbing her by her ass cheeks and thrusting in a steady but fast pace, making sure to hit her sweat spot. She didn't pay any attention to him, just to her blank mind and was anticipating for the final stroke. From the other side his attention was all on her and her facial expressions. She was smiling and was calling his name with every desperate push he was giving her. He was watching her lips and the way they were shaping every time she was speaking his name. It was a real turn on for him.

"I going to cum..." Izaya groaned and his thrusts became faster feeling her walls tighten up around him like begging him to give her everything he had.

"Me too..."

He thrust once more and felt all his body tense up as he realized everything inside of her feeling her body and walls tremble, squeezing him, before she orgasm too. She did came, hard and enjoyed every bit of it.

The raven fall exhausted next to her, with his face buried in the pillow. Cecilia looked at him trying to guess if he is alive or not.

"Oi! Still alive?" she asked worried as he wasn't moving. He groaned tired as a response but didn't bother to move. She chuckled and got up to go get a shower as she was covered in sweat and cum. He felt her weight leaving the bed and felt the sudden argue to get up and go join her in the shower but he was to tired to move any part of his body. He just watched her walk away from the bed humming happily and been lost behind the bathroom's door. He signed defeated and drifted to sleep.

He would take a shower after her.

* * *

 ** **At the other side of**** ** **Ikebukuro****

Celty was driving home with Shinra after they left Izaya's apartment. When they arrived at their apartment they saw Saya waiting for them outside their door. She was worried and pale. Shinra immediately shown her the way inside and sat her at the living room as he ran to the kitchen to bring her some tea. Celty sat down too and waited for her fiance to sit down too. Once he was back with the tea Saya started to talk.

"He is here… Dragon… you don't know him… how can you know him? Of course no… but he is dangerous. Cecilia is in danger. She got in touch with Dragon. I didn't know it! Izaya told me about it. It was a shocker! Even he is involved with him. And Alex came too. He said that he was just looking for her. I remembered him. He was such a good boy. I never expected him to work for Dragon. I saw him. He was with Shou. I gave Cecilia directly to Dragon. Oh my god… what am I going to do? I can't just go and blew it all up! I am supposed to be dead too! Cecilia don't know anything about me! She didn't recognize me. How could she… you did an amazing job doctor. I own you that one…" she stopped and drank some of her tea. Her hands were trembling and she was shaking. She was terrified for her old friend's future. Shinra and Celty felt really sorry for her.

"Saya-san. Please relax. I understand that that guy, Dragon, is dangerous but from what I saw Cecilia-san can heal on her own, she is a siren. I bet that she has a bunch of power to fight against them!"

Saya looked at him gravely. Her eyes were desperate and she was ready to cry.

"She is not like she used to be. That is and the reason she came here. Her powers are not like they used to be. She is weak. Boss told me about it, weird that he didn't know about Dragon. But what I am afraid about isn't Dragon… he is an idiot alright. She will manage to get away from him. What I am afraid is _him_ learning that she is still alive."

Shinra gasped and Celty started to tremble as she got some bad flashbacks from the past.

"I believe that this would be unavoidable, Saya-san..." Shinra said with a sad tone and caught her hands between his in an attempt to give her courage.

"But she has friends and I am sure that she will be able to get over any obstacle. Izaya for example is a good ally! Shizuo and Varona too. So you don't need to worry about her ok?"

"I hope so… do you know what happened? Because neither Izaya neither Cecilia gave me any information..."

Shinra told her everything he knew and Celty left for a job.

* * *

 ** **At an other group of friends…****

Anri was walking down the road with her boyfriend, Mikado, and her friend, Saki, with her boyfriend, Masaomi. In her mind she still had her friend's words from the morning.

 _'Is she?'_

Why would she say something like that? It was true that her friend was once put in a situation like this and because of that she had so many problems with her current boyfriend but she said that it was her fault for trusting Izaya in the first place. Of course now they were fine. The whole fiasco with dollars is over now. Their lives are back to normal and yet blue squares came and shook this peacefulness. She didn't like it at all.

She looked at her friend, Saki. She seemed happy but something was on her mind. Something was bothering her.

They kept walking and laughing with the boys' silly actions and attempts to make them laugh with them when they saw Celty talk with Erica and Kadota. Erica noticed them and waved at them to come closer.

"Arni-chan! How are you!?" Erica asked her excited to see her old friend again.

"I am good Erica-san. How about you?"

"Hm… worried about a friend of mine that had been kidnapped. But Celty-san just told us that she is fine!"

Saki jumped into the conversation.

"I am sorry, are you talking about the girl who had been kidnapped by blue squares?"

Erica nodded.

"Is… does Izaya happened to be involved?" Saki continued, eyes locked on Erica. The three boys and Celty looked at her. Anri was confused too.

"Eh? Yeah… well he was captive with her, as Celty just told me. Right?"

[Right.]

"So, you can tell that he was involved."

"I… Ι see… thank you..." Saki said giving them a small smile and hanged by her boyfriend's arm. Erica smiled at her and tried to convinced her that her friend was safe and that she shouldn't be worried about her anymore.

Celty gave her goodbyes and left. The same did and Erica with Kadota leaving the four alone again. They decided to go home too. But Saki didn't go home, instead she walked around to think and to manage to forget. She didn't want to worry her boyfriend that is why she lied and said that she would go to Erica. Then a man approached her scaring her. He was a little taller than her and he had red hair with green eyes. He apologized by bowing slightly with his one hand at front and the other at his back and asked her to sit down and let him speak with her.

"Hello. Please excuse my courage to speak to you but I am in need. My name is Alex. I am a friend of that girl that got kidnapped. I didn't want but I heard your conversation earlier. You asked about Orihara Izaya, right?" he asked her with a sad face and sparkling eyes. Saki's eyes lighten up immediately and nodded.

"I knew it… he was involved right? That bastard is using her… you have no idea how hard it is for me to stop her from being with him!" he said and covered his face with his palms pretending to cry. Saki patted his shoulder lightly.

"You know, Cecilia, that is her name, used to be my best friend. She used to be also my girlfriend. Until she met that bastard Izaya. She started to get away from me and I started to run after her. I love her… I want her back…"

Saki started to tear up. She felt so sorry for the guy next to her that she didn't even think about the reason he approached her in particular. She tried to make him feel better by telling him her story with Izaya. Alex smirked victoriously.

"Νe… will you help me?" he said and he offered her his hand. She looked at him confused.

"I want her back. I want my smiling girl back. Will you please go and find her? And tell her to come here?" He handed her a piece of paper. "but don't tell her that I was the one who asked her to come, because she wont come..." he smiled at her sadly. She nodded slowly and looked at the folded paper. When she looked up, the guy was gone and she was again all alone to find a way to find that girl.

Alex had left satisfied and got his phone out to call his boss.

"It's me. Yes, yes… she will find her. I am sure of it…. I am good when it comes to emotional attacks and support. But… you promised! You wont hurt Cecilia! You gave me your word, Shou!"

* * *

 ** **And here we are! Thank you again for reading and i am terribly sorry for the late updates.****

 ** **Please review your opinions! See ya next chapter! ;)****


	7. Chapter 7 - Fight Dragon - Part 1

****Finally! OH MY GOD! I finally managed to write the chapter...** **I** **am exhausted! And exams are coming closer and closer! And summer too!****

 ** *********ATTENTION!***********

 ** **NEVER! EVER! NEVER EVER WRITE A CHAPTER WHEN YOU ARE HORNY!****

 ** **It's just a bad move... a very bad... bad... BAD MOVE!****

 ** **Anyway! I got my inspiration back(until the next one... somehow) I really hope that you aren't getting confused about what is happening. At the future chapters I plan on explaining most of them.****

 ** **Let me thank you for still being with me here guys!****

 **Thank you** **1Lionhearted0** **and** **ShizuosPrincess** **for following and favoring the story! It means a lot to me guys!**

 ** **Please enjoy everyone!****

 ** **Plus... i believe i am driving Izaya to occ Izaya. Izaya is a person who can't possibly have romantic feelings for someone else as he is known as a possible asexual, but in the fanfictions**** ** **I**** ** **am reading, we have made him a fucking sex machine! And**** ** **I**** ** **really liked that! You can say that he is having sex to see the reactions of his partner! XD Not his victim! :P Anyway! Please forgive me.****

* * *

 **Chapter 7**

 **Fight Dragon - Part 1**

 **still christmas… yeah such a big day...**

Cecilia couldn't sleep. After she took a shower and got dressed she felt restless. She laid back on the bed next to a sleeping Izaya and tried to calm down and sleep but she was unable to from all the thoughts she had in her head. She turned around and grabbed her phone. '!7:00' Izaya was dead tired but she was refreshed and cool. Also it was still Christmas and she had got a good and a bad gift that day.

Bad gift? The wonderful news of Dragon finding her! She couldn't believe that Dragon hired someone to kill her and Izaya! She was supposed to be dead and no one should have known about her whereabouts. Well at least it was Shou. Shou was a cool guy. Deadly but cool. They had done lots of things in the past, so getting an opportunity to kill her was a good shot. There was no way he would refuse.

She started to laugh in silence remembering what they had done to each other. Then she remembered about him beating her, as Izaya had told her, and she promised to herself that she would beat his ass if she was going to get out alive.

"Alive huh?" she looked at Izaya next to her. For some reason Izaya kept her hidden and helped her a lot. She didn't really care about the reason he did it. Either if he did it for his own enjoyment or for future use, it didn't matter. She still found it weird. He was against Dragon and under Shou's gun. Anyone would crack and run for their dear life. Yet he didn't. That was a good gift indeed.

She smiled. Maybe the bed they shared was a good thing after all. She didn't have such good sex for years. Last time she had quality sex must have been with her ex boyfriend. She shook her head trying to not remember her ex. He ended up being a complete asshole and a pussy.

"And what is that thing with me being all horny after I get out of my recovery mode. I thought I had it under control." she murmured tired of how her body was reacting. Last time she had a recovery mode was after her fight with Varona. She had to take a leave for the next day to calm down a little. Now she did her best to not make any advances to Izaya but at the end she couldn't hold herself back and they did it. She didn't regret it at all but now it would be a little awkward.

"No… we said it was just sex..." she said to herself. "But damn..." She looked at the sleeping raven again. She smiled warmly at him and she ran her fingers through his soft and silk hair. He was so adorable. She wanted to wake him up for a second round but she held herself back.

She had more important things to take care off. She was out for a long time and she had to be informed about what was going on. Her life was too good to just give up now, and time was against her. She was sure that they were looking for her. She got nervously out of bed and ran to the door. Got her shoes, Izaya's jacket, some black sun-glasses she found there and left the apartment with his keys. On her way out she called Saya.

" _Huh? You_ _are going where? Are you crazy? You do realize that Dragon is after you right? Go back and hide!_ _"_ Saya told to her younger friend.

"No! I can't just stay still! I did lots of idiotic things until now and waste enough time already!" Cecilia said and yawned.

" _Like?"_

"I slept with Izaya..."

" _Oh shit... with Izaya from all people? I thought I told you to stay away from him, and not only you went directly at him, you even slept with him!"_ Saya said in a matter of fact tone. She sounded disappointed.

"Saya! I guess that you already know why I went directly at Izaya… you know about Dragon already so that is a given!" the siren cried at her older friend.

" _Yeah! But you slept with him! This is a disgrace honey!"_ Saya continued.

"Ok ok! I get it! I was horny and he was available! Shoot me next time!" the younger girl said tired of hearing Saya's scoldings.

" _Anyway, what are you going to do about Dragon? You knew how Dragon works yet you failed your mission. Why?"_ Saya asked in a serious tone making the siren come back to reality again.

"It's simple. I didn't give it too much thought! I found Izaya the second day I arrived in Ikebukuro. It was too easy! And I got into his house too! I reached for the ring Dragon wanted, I didn't find it, the end. Also I found and a house and a job and I made friends. You know how much I wanted a life like this Saya! I just wanted to live normally a little more..." Cecilia answered like there was nothing wrong with it.

" _I know… I feel you but you had to find the ring Cecilia. Dragon is-"_

"Dragon would kill me anyway. I am not welcomed to his kind… You better not know why… But I don't regret anything." The siren answered back with sadness growing inside of her. Saya remained silent for a while. She knew very well why Dragon and his kind didn't want Cecilia alive, she knew very well everything about her. After she left Yogsai-City she kept being in contact with the Boss to get information. But she promised to not talk… not yet…

" _Do you believe that Izaya know where the ring is?"_ Saya asked again.

"He was also looking for it. And from what happened I guess he has no intent to give it away even if he has it. We haven't talk about it yet..."

Saya almost scream at the phone. "INSTEAD OF SLEEPING WITH HIM YOU COULD JUST SPEAK TO HIM! What the fuck is wrong with you? Do you plan on keep on living you little bitch or not?" Saya could be heard all the way around Cecilia, making some strangers turn to look at Cecilia confused. Cecilia drove the phone away from her ear so she could avoid her head being exploded from Saya's screams and waved at the strangers to go away.

"Relax! He is sleeping now so I left to do some research my self! Damn!"

" _Also… I saw Alex with Shou at some point. Alex turned against you?"_ Saya asked worried. After all she was the one who told Alex about Cecilia and her new name. She never thought that he, from all people, would betray her like that.

"I don't really know. But why the fuck did you give Alex my name in the first place, Saya? Did you know him? I mean how the fuck did you trust him?" Cecilia asked her angry. Saya caught off guard. She again couldn't say that she knew that Alex was working for Cecilia in the past and that she knew that they knew each other so she gave it to him freely. That would be catastrophic for now. So she decided to lie.

" _Um… he said that he… um… he was new and that he was looking for someone to help him around the city and that he was here for a new life…. Yeah… like you… you know that at my hotel are coming only people from out city for a new chance in life and-"_

"Yeah yeah whatever! And you thought that it was a good idea? Jesus Saya! You destroyed me, you bitch!" Cecilia screamed this time when she saw Erica waving at her from afar. "Look, I have to go now. I will figure out something to do with Dragon. So you better keep your mouth shut for now!" the girl said and hanged up before Saya could react.

Cecilia approached Erica who was out with an other girl with her. The siren smiled at both of them.

"Cici! Oh my Cici!" Erica screamed and ran at the siren to hug her. "I am so glad to see you so well and refreshed! Damn girl! What happened with you and Izaya all alone into his house?" Erica asked bluntly at the girl while hitting her softly with her elbow. Cecilia turned all red as she didn't expect someone to know if she had sex or not. And good sex! She just shook her head smiling nervously.

"Nothing happened! Hey! Who is this cutie?" she tried to change the subject by pointing at the girl next to Erica.

"Oh! This is my friend Saki! She said that she didn't want to stay home so she came to find me again. She was just telling me that she wanted to talk to you!" Erica said happily and she pushed Saki towards the new coming girl. Cecilia smiled at her and she gave her hand to shook it. Saki did the same and smiled back. Erica kept staring at both of them.

"Oh yes Erica! Thank you very much for saving our asses back there! If you weren't there with Shizuo and Varona, me and Izaya would be dead." Cecilia smiled.

"And now you wouldn't be that happy and refreshed, huh?" Erica dropped the bomb again.

Saki all this time was watching them without saying a word. She was still holding the paper that Alex had given her a few hours before. Every time she would hear Izaya's name she would clinch her hands into fists.

"Ok ok! I will tell you some other time!" Cecilia finally gave up at Erica's teasing.

"I knew it!" The other girl exclaimed happily when Saki suddenly started to whisper.

"Stay away from Izaya!"

"Eh?" the two laughing girls looked at her.

"Stay away from Izaya. He is using you and you fell right into his trap. Stay away from him." Saki's tone started to volume up as she continued to repeat her words.

Cecilia looked at her astonished but Erica got what was going on. She took Saki into her arms and hugged her tightly. She believed that Cecilia was one of Izaya's victims like her.

"Saki. Izaya wasn't at fault this time. So calm down." Erica patted her head slowly. Cecilia looked at them tying to understand what was going on.

"Izaya… Izaya had her get involved in some business and that had as an outcome Saki to be kidnapped by blue squares and get out injured. Me and the rest saved her last time. Your case was almost the same as Saki's." Erica explained to the siren.

"I see..." Cecilia said feeling sorry for the kid. Saki left Erica's arms and sat down. Then she told Cecilia what happened some years ago when she met Izaya and how much of an idiot she was for following his instructions to get her current boyfriend. Cecilia wasn't surprised at all. She got what happened and thought that it was typical for someone like Izaya to do. The girl was just too easy to manipulate. When Saki finished her story she looked at Cecilia with tears in her eyes.

"So… if you really love your boyfriend, please go and find him here and stay away from Izaya..."

Saki gave Cecilia the paper Alex had given her. Cecilia with Erica looked both confused at Saki.

"Who gave it to you?" Cecilia's warm tone was gone. She could feel that something wasn't right.

"A guy named Alex. He loves you! You should stay away from Izaya… Izaya will use you like he did with me to get more people involved and make a huge mess just to enjoy himself… go there and find your boyfriend and stay away from Izaya... He told me to not tell you that he was the one who called you there because he said that you wouldn't appear but I trust you. I know that you are a good girl, because Erica is your friend. So-"

"Saki!" three voices were heard from behind them. It was Anri, Mikado and her boyfriend, Masaomi. Saki looked at them socked. Cecilia took the paper and studied the address. The three kids approached them, all worried about their friend. Apparently she lied about going out and because she was late they were looking for her.

"I was so worried about you Saki!" her boyfriend said.

"I am sorry..."

"Guys… it's Christmas… go and enjoy your selves." Cecilia suddenly shouted at them. Erica looked suspiciously at Cecilia but followed her lead.

"How about we all go for launch at Russian Sushi?" Erica offered.

"Yeah it would be a good idea." Mikado agreed.

"I will pass. I have a job to do." Cecilia winked at Saki and stared to walk away. Erica didn't like it and grabbed her by her hand.

"Cici… I didn't know you had a boyfriend… is something wrong?" she whispered into her friend's ear. The other girl smiled at her and shook her head.

"No… it's nothing important… he is just a dude who is obsessed with me, I am going to clear things up now." she lied to her beloved friend. She hated it but she had to keep her safe and away from Dragon and Shou and Alex. Izaya was enough. Erica didn't seem to be convinced but she let it go for the time being taking the other four to have dinner.

* * *

Cecilia looked at the address once again. She knew that building. It was tall, like fifty stores tall. It was a creepy place to have a meeting but she was feeling like Alex would be there alone for some reason. He maybe wanted to talk or apologize? That was so like him. He was also working shyly and didn't want to talk face to face. Shady guy. So she drove herself there. She climbed the building and found her way to the roof.

There she found someone alone waiting for her into the shadows. She walked confidently towards him and stood in the middle of the roof, arms crossed in front of her chest and legs opened like a bad ass woman she was. Her stand was screaming 'come at me bro with everything you have'.

"Alex!" she called annoyed and waited for him to turn around. She was angry at him for all the bullshit he had done. She knew that he snitched her at Shou and she wasn't going to let that slid like that! He was going to get beaten up!

That someone turned around and waved at her while holding a lighted cigar between his figures and a gun at his free hand.

"You gotta be fucking kidding me." the siren said and let her head fall in front of her and shook it feeling that it was so wrong for him to be there.

"Cecilia!" It wasn't Alex. It was Shou. Cecilia chuckled nervously hearing her new name being known to him and stared at his dark soul approaching her. The girl didn't move from her spot and waited. He placed his cigar back to his mouth and opened his gun to check his bullets. When he arrived in front of the girl, he stopped and turned the gun around letting five bullets fall on the ground between them. The girl watched them hit the ground and cause a metallic sound while rolling away on the ground.

"Five bullets… each one for my every comrade that got killed for no reason..." he said in a slow dark tone, betraying the pain and the sorrow he was carrying. The siren got stiffer and cold sweat was running down her back. She didn't know what to expect. His eyes were dead. His soul was damaged. A damaged dog is a dog who carries no feeling or mercy. The only thing it cares about is revenge. She stood motionless and waited for him to continue. Just because he had just emptied his visible gun in front of her that didn't mean that he didn't have any other gun with him. He was indeed the best paid assassin in Yogsai-City.

Shou looked at the bullets on the ground and then at the girl in front of him. He saw in her eyes that she wasn't going to underestimate him and that she was neutral. He felt relieved with her reaction and smirked.

"You are still the same, Manipulator. You never underestimate anyone. You kept your cool and didn't do anything unnecessary." he said softly and dragged his jacket to revealed a second gun under his belt. The girl didn't respond but closed her eyes to collect her thoughts.

"I hope that you don't have any hard feelings, eh?" he asked playfully and painfully.

"None, none. I would do the same in your place. A job is a job. We have talked about that." She waved her hand in front of her face like she didn't care, with her eyes still closed. Then she opened her eyes, placed her hands on his shoulders and brought her knee to his stomach with all her power. He gasped and fall on the ground in pain.

"I guess I deserved that." he coughed while on the ground.

"Yes, but I heard what you did to me. This was a payback." she snorted angrily and waited for him collect himself. He got up slowly while holding his stomach and stared at his cigarette on the floor disappointed.

"I am sorry, baby girl. But I had to do my job…"

"To make it clear. Are you here to kill me?" she cut him. He shook his head negatively.

"Are you going to kill me afterward?" He shook his head negatively again.

"I see. Now. How the fuck are your men dead? How is that even possible?" she asked obviously confused with his statement. She knew that those guys were invisible. Best shooters and ex-soldiers. Being killed was impossible.

"Dragon…"

Silence fall.

"Anyway… I am happy that you are alive. When I heard that you were dead I got sad."

She looked at him with most 'what the fuck are you talking about? I don't buy that bullshit' face she had, making him chock to thin air.

"It's true. But imagine my surprise when Dragon asked me to kill you."

"Bet you couldn't be happier." she answered for him and flip her hair away from her face. He hmed happily in response and took his cigar case out.

"Want one?" he offered her and she gladly accepted. She knew that he was going to speak about heavy things, as he was trying to cut smoking and he would smoke when things got stiff. They lighted their cigars and they sat on the cold floor.

"Manipulator, or else Cecilia for now, I am here to make a deal with you. We know each other a long time now so I can say that I can trust you on this one." He let some smoke escape from his mouth. The girl just nodded.

"Ok, I am listening."

"Well to make it clear. In Yogsai-City when you were declared dead everyone panicked. They didn't expect you, from all people, to be killed. And then chaos came. They all got that they weren't safe anymore. So you understand the madness right?"

"Yes."

"Well some people used that chaos and managed to get power above the rest. Dragon was also a victim. I heard that lots off his men were slayed and that people were after him."

"Wow… I didn't expect something like that to happen."

"Yes… Well a few days ago Dragon asked for me and he dropped me the bomb. You alive and living a new life! And the next bomb that he wanted to assassinate you in case you had failed your mission. I accepted, excuse me, but I didn't expect you bitch to fail!"

That annoyed the girl but she chose to stay silent.

"The guy asked you to get him a damn ring! Easy as killing an idiot in public space. Alex, that good for nothing idiot, explained to me what happened and why you left. That was nasty thing to happen baby girl!"

"It was, yes."

"And then we came here! I send Alex to go and get you and I found a local gang to get info about Orihara. That bluehead was a good boy, a little out of his mind but cool guy. Aoba his name. I was at that gang's hideout along with some of Dragon's men, and here comes Alex, saying that you had failed. I had to play along so I asked the gang to cooperate, of course with money in the middle."

Cecilia cringe when she heard that Alex had screw her up so badly. That guy was always a slow one.

"Well, then we found Orihara and you and I had to play my part baby girl! I had over twenty guys from Dragon, blend into that gang. Sorry for the hits."

"And the gun and you even stepped on me!" she hissed angrily at him. He dropped his head and apologized the classical Japanese way.

"Well a monster came to your rescue and kicked the shit out of us!" his happy go around attitude was gone and his aura got darker and chilli. "Dragon didn't like the news and he panicked I guess. So he ordered Alex to find you and send some of the rest of his men to kill me and my men. They shot us on the spot that night."

Cecilia gasped. She didn't expect that.

"You are kidding me right?"

"Nope… that night, after Alex and Dragon's men failed to find you, Alex came back to that hideout to check up on us as he heard about the beating. It was ugly man. They shot lots of people, even members from that gang. Dragon's men who were with me were all dead. My five men were also dead. I was lucky that I survived, only god knows how. Aoba, that gang's leader was furious. He asked for explanations. He seeks revenge. I was taken away from there by Alex immediately, leaving my men behind. Police has their bodies now but the incident was silenced and they said that yakuza was responsible."

"I see… that is why I didn't hear anything." she noticed and continued. "I fail to see where I am involved in all this. I mean if you want revenge you can work with that gang and finish the job. You are capable to do so much. Isn't that right?" she raised her eyebrow. It was too convenient.

Something didn't match.

"That is true. But I thought that you would maybe want to participate in all this." A cheeky smile appeared on his face. "I know you Manipulator. You enjoy taking revenge. You can't hide that, at least not from me." his smile became bigger.

She couldn't refuse it. She did enjoy taking revenge. She would love to take revenge on Dragon who was partly responsible for her city's destruction. It was a very seductive offer indeed. She tried to hide her smile by biting her lips but it was almost impossible.

"Fuck you Shou! I just want to live a peaceful life and here we are talking about killing Dragon. How can you be so cruel, man?"

Shou started to laugh his ass off with her response. She didn't change at all after all this time.

"Also I am doing this and for some other reason."

"Hm?"

"I didn't finish my story after all. When Alex took me away from there I was out. When I woke up I found my self at my brother's house."

"Brother? Wait! Really? That brother that left the city and then disappeared?"

"Yes. He found me and Alex on the street and took us in. His wife is a very pleasant woman. I am happy that he managed to make a family. Anyway. He saw a photo of you that I had in my wallet, a picture Alex had given me, and he recognized you. I heard that you saved his life so he asked me to not hurt you."

"I saved his life?"

"Yes. He told me that because he was in dept he took a gun and went to robe a restaurant. There he shot someone and you managed to talk to him and throw him out of his misery. I really own you. You know. Family first, then job and then the rest. You saved my family. I own you big time." he said thankful to her and gave her genius smile. She became all red and rubbed the back of her head.

"I do like what I hear and I am willing to help, yet I need to make sure that me and my family is safe too. If Dragon and his men are to be taken down here, is going someone to come after us?"

"Hm… from what Alex said, Dragon actually ran away from Yogsai-City to come and get that ring. He believes that this ring will give him the power to get his thesis back, so he made sure no one to ever know about the ring. So I guess that no one will come here after his death."

"Ok… and if Dragon is taken out there would be you and Alex who will know that I am alive." she said and stared at him hard. He got what she meant and what he had to do.

"I give you my word that I will keep it a secret about you, your whereabouts and your new name. I will take them with me to my grave."

"Thank you." she knew that she could trust him on this one. Yet she continued to feel a little worried about all this.

"And the plan is?" she asked to get more information so her worries would go away.

"Dragon has with him three servants and twenty more as guards. With Dragon we need to kill twenty four guys."

"Too many bodies..." she noticed. They weren't at Yogsai-City. They were out of there. Out of there meant that real police would be involved. It would be too risky.

"Yes. I can shot them alright, but I can't hide them..."

"The gang can't help?"

"Hm… well they are a bunch of amateurs. Can you really trust them to do such an important work?"

"Nope but they can help us kill them one by one."

"You mean?"

"If we manage to take each of Dragon's men into the city and kill them one by one, away from each other, it would be easier to get them and take them away. Then we lure Dragon out of his hideout, make him look like he is leaving the city, and we kill him."

Shou waited for a while to think. It would be convenient for any future question to send Dragon out of Ikebukuro and kill him. It would seem like Dragon just disappeared and would never come back.

"Interesting… We are going to talk with Aoba and Alex though. Can you do that?" Shou asked her.

"You know I can. Maybe I am not as strong as I used to be, but I can do as much as to manipulate."

Shou smiled and got up. Cecilia did the same. They both took one last smoke and threw their cigars away.

"You know… I am disappointed that Dragon asked from an outsider to come and kill me. But thank god he asked you to come. Or else I would have to kill you too. You know I was planning on killing him at some point. After all I don't have that god damned ring!"

"Speaking of the ring. How did you failed? Don't tell me you fell for that dude? He was hot alright, he even tried to save you from me. That was cute, but still..."

"Nope. I just got used to the kind of life I had. I didn't really pay much attention to it. I know silly, but I still wanted to cool off for a while..."

"I see… I bet that guy helped too, especially with your recovery." he winked at her with a mischievous smile. She kicked him in response and drove him to the door for the stairs. They got down from the emergency stairs at a dark alley next to the building. Cecilia turned to the assassin and gave him a piece of paper.

"Here is my number. Call me tomorrow and ask Alex and the leader of the gang to gather up. We need a plan."

"Ne! Tell me! That guy is into you, right?" he kept nagging her. "That is why he saved you and kept you hidden all this time."

"No. He likes humans. You know that I am not human." she cut him annoyed.

"Yeah yeah! I know that personally. You don't need to remind me!" he answered and bowed comically as they departed.

* * *

Izaya woke up tired and exhausted during the night. He felt like he was sleeping for centuries. He searched his phone to his bed side and checked the time. '20:30' He had been sleeping for some hours. His eyes were burning and he was hungry. He rolled over to see that next to him was no one. He got caught off guard for a while but then he remembered. He had sex with Cecilia, she took a shower and he fell asleep. He looked around him and saw that the apartment was dark.

"She left?" he questioned himself. He tried to drag himself out of bed. He walked naked around until he found the lights. Once the room was bright he closed his eyes blinded by the light. He didn't hear anyone complain so he guessed that she was away. He didn't really give any thought to it and just walked to the bathroom to finally take a bath. He filled the bathtub with hot water and dive in it.

He stared around him and then he noticed that he had left the bathroom's door open. He let his head rest at the end of the bathtub and he stare at the rest of the house from there. He could see his clothes all over the floor. Too many of them. Then he remembered that she was wearing his clothes previously.

Images of him and her having sex flashed. He could still remember the feeling of having her body in his arms and his lips on hers. He could still remember the argue to have her only for him, to make her think only of him and make her want only him. When he was having sex with someone his only thought was how to please himself and not his partner.

He never got excited by the idea of having sex with anyone. He thought that it was just a need to be fulfilled like eating or taking a shower. He had indeed slept with lots of different women in the past but this girl was something different. First of all she had amazing accuracy and stamina and wasn't shy at all. She knew what she wanted and she was making sure to get it. Something that not so many know how to do it. It was exciting sharing his bed with _her_. He was desperately trying to please _her_. He wanted to make _her_ moan and call _his_ name. He wanted to make her his. Everything was so different from what he was used to until then. Everything that girl was doing was new to him.

He brought his head at front again and dived deeper until the water was touching his nose. He closed his eyes to relax.

He never expected to be so excited about sex. He was more interested on making the others a big mess than actually be intimate with them. Was it weird for him to want to know more about her? But that girl was so interesting and he wanted to have more parts of her. He was intriguer by her.

Something inside him was sad because she was gone. Something very small, deep, deep inside of him. And it wanted to come out but he would stop it every time.

He kept sitting into the bathtub until he heard someone at his door. He immediately got up and left the water while wrapping a towel around his waist. He exited the bathroom and got face to face with Cecilia who was wearing his coat and had some paper bags in her arms.

"Oh you are awake!" she smiled at him and entered the house. Izaya smirked and watched her leaving the bags on the kitchen table while following her every move after that.

"I thought that you left." he said in hurt tone obviously mocking her. The girl chuckled while getting out of the bag some food.

"And? Now you are disappointed that I came back? We need to talk, right?" she winked at him smiling. Izaya waved and proceed to change into some clothes. His heart was now calmer and his sadness had left.

Cecilia tried to not look at him while he was changing so she kept her self busy by ordering the plates and the chopsticks on the table. When everything was set they sat to eat in peace and quiet. They kept eating without speaking to each other. That silence was awkward. Izaya had the urge to ask where she was until that time and why she was out when they were after her.

"So? Where were you?" he asked all of a sudden.

"Eh? Out. I met with Erica." she answered quickly and ate something. Izaya hmed as an answer."And you? Did you sleep well?" she asked this time.

"Yes. I was tired. You really took all my energy. Amazing I have to say."

"I see. Well I have to admit it. You were some of the few men who made me actually finish. Most of them would finish without me. It was always a let down." she winked at him. He smirked at her comment. She knew how to make a man feel good.

A few minutes passed before she gasped. "Fuck! I forgot to take the pill!" she said shocked and left the dinner table to go get her bag, almost running. She threw everything out of her bag on the bed and look through them until she found a pack of pills, shouting 'eureka' with the most relieved expression Izaya had seen. She took one, drank some water and sat satisfied back to her seat. Izaya was watching her all this time confused.

"What was that?" he asked trying to hold his laugh.

"Morning pill, or the pill of the next day, whatever! We didn't use any condoms bro! You even finished inside! Damn me! You wanted to become a daddy?" she asked exhaling air and all red. He couldn't hold it anymore and burst out laughing. Cecilia stood in a state of shock trying to get the reason of his reaction.

"And where did you find it? It's Christmas." he asked inside his laughter.

"Oh, I asked Saya to send me some with Celty. I had some at my house. I asked her to bring me and some condoms too, but at the end we didn't use them. Thank god I asked for morning pills." she answered like she was talking to herself.

Izaya lost his smile and stopped laughing.

"I think I should go and check my self." she continued her monologue.

"Check your self?" he started to get annoyed.

"Yes. I usually use condoms, you know. But yesterday I didn't ask you to use one… it was stupid… ah man..." she cried confused as she buried her face into her arms.

Izaya smirked. "I usually use condoms too. Yesterday I didn't ask to use any too. So we are both at fault. It's only human to make mistakes like this." She raised her head and stuck her tongue out.

"I am not a full blood human, though..." she added. He took a sip from his tea. "That is true indeed." he agreed.

Cecilia felt weird for a minute. His voice was sad and had a tone of disappointment into it. He loved humans. He was adoring humans. He was head over heels for humans. She could still remember his theories about humans and their ways. He would speak for hours and hours when they were working for his jobs. His face was all lighten up when he was talking about humans. Sometimes she was getting jealous of how someone can love someone like this, even if it was an entire race, like humans. But she never minded him. He was just giving information. But now she was aching inside. It must be her hormones after her recovery mode. That must be. That proved that she wasn't human. She didn't have periods like normal girls to have mood swigs, or bleed, or be in pain… she had recovery modes. That wasn't human. And that proved Shou wrong. Someone would expect her to be happy for being proven right, but she wasn't.

"Do you regret it?" she asked all of a sudden.

"Regret what?"

"Regret having sex with a monster." she continued blandly. Her emotions needed to know that answer.

"I don't." he gave her a small smile.

"You are a smooth talker. I like that." she smiled, reassured this time and got up. She walked to the fridge and got a bottle of red wine out. She took two wine glasses and placed them all at the table in front of the couch. Izaya followed her there and sat beside her. She opened the bottle and pure wine into the glasses.

"I met with Shou." she stated all of a sudden. Izaya chocked and almost make a mess with his wine. He wanted to make others what he wanted in order to see their reactions, yet he hated when they were doing it to him.

"Why? Wasn't he the one who was supposed to kill you?" he asked confused and feeling himself getting dizzy.

"It's complicated how he managed to find me, but he did. Well, there is plan to take Dragon down and to close what was left open, for me and for you. Are you interested?" she asked.

"I am listening."

"I have not much to say about it. Shou and that gang that got me, Blue Squares? They want to kill Dragon, because he killed their men. It's about revenge. A perfect opportunity to get ride of him."

"So why don't you let them do your job and just observe from above?"

"That is indeed a good idea, but I want to make sure that everything is done right. I don't like half done jobs."

"And what makes you think that I want to go against Dragon? What if I betray you?" he continued.

"I don't and I am not worried about it. You will just have to be killed at the end too. I make no exceptions. Your death won't cause me any kind of problems. It would be like you never existed in my life. Also I won't feel bad either. I am happy that you saved me but betrayal is unforgivable."

Izaya was left speechless. She was cold and ruthless. She was a monster after all. He sat back amused and raised his glass.

"So...Are you interested in my story?" he asked next.

"I am, but that ring won't be any use to me anymore, so you are free to keep it to yourself."

He raised his eyebrow bewildered. "You think that I have it?"

"I honestly don't know and I don't care. For you to don't do anything until now to get ride of Dragon means two things. One you don't have it or two you have it and you have no reason or intention of giving it to him. Anyway both reasons have nothing to do with me right now. Which means you can keep the ring. Dragon is going down."

Silence fell again. They looked at each other. She smiled at him and he turned towards the table.

"Do you trust him?" he asked her concerned.

"Who?"

"Shou? You sound like the job is done."

"I do. We know each other for quite some time after all."

"And he was willing to kill you?"

"It was his job. Dragon hired him to kill me. In his place I would do the same. No hard feelings involved." she took a sip from her wine in a delicate way and placed it back to the table. Izaya was watching her every move and was trying to understand her way of thinking. A normal person wouldn't do nothing of what she did. They wouldn't go outside while they are being targeted, they wouldn't even talk with their own assassin. They wouldn't even think to make a plan to take down their enemy. It was crazy. Everything was crazy and dangerous. And he loved it. It was thrilling. It was unique. She was acting completely different from what he expect and that was raising his ecstasy. He finally found someone who was acting and thinking differently. He didn't feel the slightest regret for what he was thinking during his bath. He was right after all. He needed her to keep him busy. He needed her to keep him alive.

' _ **I am not a full blood human though...'**_

That stopped his wave.

 _She wasn't a human…_

 _She wasn't a human…_

 _She wasn't a human…_

She wasn't a monster like Shizuo. She was a monster like Celty, in which he never got any kind of interest to begin with. He never bothered to play with her to get her reactions and he never had the yearning to see her reactions. Not that someone could see them. She had no head. Only Shinra could see them. Yet he kept facing Cecilia like she was a human being.

He kept holding his glass with the wine between his fingers and kept playing with it with thoughts like that. The wine was dancing inside the glass carefully to not let a drop fall on the carpet below. His thoughts were lost in it while Cecilia from the other side was drinking one glass after an other. She started to get nervous about the whole situation. She was trying to keep her cool, and her hormones in check and the best cure was the alcohol. So she kept on drinking.

"You know, that ring was a gift from my father to my mother." he sounded all of a sudden making the siren stop drinking her third glass of wine. She shifted her view to him and let the glass down. He had her whole attention.

"The stone is a very beautiful, clear blue stone. This stone can cause lots of destruction if it happened to fall on the wrong hands. So my father started to spread rumors that the ring was cursed to make buyers and other interested people to go away. Dragon was one of them. He didn't like it at all and tried to get it a few times but he failed. Because he wouldn't give up we let him steal a fake one. It has been years since then."

"I see… So the ring is a family reminder, yes?"

"You can say that. My parents died at an accident years ago. I raised my two sisters but they can manage on their own. My job gets enough money so I can pay for everything." he became a little over dramatic making the girl cringe.

"That is so out of character. What is your goal here?"

Izaya chuckled. "I just want to give you a reason to trust me so I will come out alive from all this." he smiled innocently.

"I bet you do." she agreed with him.

"So? What is your story?" he asked next. She glared at him not amused. She wasn't really into the mood to give any kind of explanations. She didn't want to do anything. Just sleep and forget about everything.

"No story… I…" she stopped and looked at her glass. "I just want a normal life… a life where I won't have to run for my life, where I won't have to fear for my life 24/7... that is my chance. Tomorrow… from tomorrow everything will be over…." her eyes lighten up and looked at him with hope.

He blushed with her sudden change of attitude and couched to cover it up. 'She is going to be the death of me...' he thought and took a big sip from his wine. She got up from the couch and went towards the bed.

"Ne Izi… I am sorry… for trying to take from you something so important." Izaya stared at her and she laid down on the bed where she fell asleep immediately.

Izaya stayed awake for some more time to think about her suggestions. She didn't give any kind of useful information about it but it was indeed a good deal. He didn't know what he had to do, if he had a role in this, but getting Dragon out was indeed good, for now. Yet he didn't know if there was anyone else who would come after that ring again. Dragon must wanted to use the ring for something to make him check it after all those years. That was a worrisome event on its own.

"What could he possibly use it for?" he asked himself when he received a message on his phone.

He grabbed it from the floor and saw that it was one of his sisters. He answered annoyed.

"What do you want? Do you know what time is it?"

"We heard that Cecilia-san is in trouble and we want to help..." one the twins voice was heard.

"She is indeed. And I am too. You don't care about me?" he pouted playfully with his eyes on the sleeping siren.

"No! Iza-nii can go die. We don't care! We have the ring. Come and take it." one of his sisters said and hanged up. Izaya was left astonished. He immediately got his jacket, his keys and left the house. He had to go to his sisters' house asap. While walking down the street he could still smell Cecilia's cologne from his coat. That made him remember her body and have a desire for her but then he bump on a dude and he set his thoughts free. He apologized quickly and left but didn't really see who it was. He continued his way to his sisters completely ignoring the rest of the world around him. What he was thinking was the ring and the siren. A weird combination indeed. When he finally rang the bell he felt like he was brought back to the real world. His two sisters appeared at the door and dragged him in. They sat him at their couch and they sat on the floor. On the table was a small white box.

"Is that it?" he asked. They nodded. "Why do you have it?"

"It was from our parents..."

"How did you get it? When?"

"Last year when you were gone after your fight with Shizuo-onisan."

"I see… and now why do you give it to me?"

The twins looked at each other.

"Aoba told us about it."

"The blue squares boss?"

"And he told us that if she had the ring now she wouldn't have any kind of problem..."

Izaya didn't respond but grabbed the white box and open it. It had inside the ring. It had been years since the last time he had seen it, and it was still beautiful and crystal clear. He closed it and shoved it into his jacket.

"Thank you..." he got his body and soul and proceed to find his way out of the house.

"Iza-nii!" one of his sisters called him. "Be careful" she wished as she closed the door behind him.

He shook his head, slightly happy and left the building. He had his hands into his pockets to check on the ring when someone stopped him on his way out of the building where he was. Izaya started to examine the guy in front of him.

"I am sorry, but I am in a hurry." he said politely as he didn't have the energy to play with him and tried to escape from the man. The man again didn't say anything but stopped him from leaving by grabbing him from his arm. Izaya looked at the guy again. He was tall, red hair and green eyes. He didn't know who he was. In a matter of fact he didn't know anything.

"You have a problem with me?" he asked the unknown redhead.

"No. But you have something I want." the redhead answered. Izaya raised his eyebrows and decided to play it like he didn't understand.

"I don't have anything you need. I don't even know you." he answered innocently dragging his arm away from the other man's arms.

"You have that ring. I never believed a word Cecilia said. You have it right?"

"You work for Dragon huh?" Izaya took his pocket knife out of his jacket.

"In a matter of fact I do. Well, I work pretty much for everybody, you know, whoever offers me more… so now I am working for Dragon." Alex smiled silly and waited for Izaya's response.

"How did you find me?"

"Ho~? You want to do this conversation now? I followed Cecilia. She did the wrong move and walked instead of jumping. So when she finished with her meeting, which I arranged of course, I followed her to your apartment. No wonder I didn't manage to find it all this time." Alex said smiling. Izaya wasn't impressed at all. Yet he was interested at his previous statement.

"You said you are working for those who gives you more?"

"Yes."

"I see… And what will happen if I refuse to follow you?"

"Then I will have to kill Cecilia. And I know that you care about her. You did save her last time we had you!" Alex started to laugh ironically. "You must be an idiot to actually want to save someone like Cecilia. She will just use you and throw you away. Like she always does. It's common for people like her. And like you. I bet you know your own kind, right? You don't need my advice on that one..."

Izaya remained silent. His hand was squeezing the little box into his pocket like crazy.

"Well, right now my men are getting Cecilia out of your apartment, so I will have to ask you to follow me. Unless you want to do it the hard way." Izaya didn't have an other choice as almost ten men appeared around him. He just gave up and followed them.

* * *

 ** **Ok! At the next chap our chars will have to face Dragon as things didn't turn like they wanted!****

 ** **After Dragon the story will continue with new enemies and more situations between Izaya and Cecilia.****

 ** **As i said at the beginning i am planning on explaining more things in the future chapters.****

 ** **Thank you so much for reading! Thank you so much for favoring and following the story. When i see the mails telling me that someone favorite or followed the story, i am staring like an idiot at the screen with a huge ass smile. I can get really creepy sometimes... yes i can...****

 ** **Also i am sorry to all my friends to whom i constantly complain about being unable to write! XD i know that you hate me in secret for that! ;)****

 ** **Please review your opinions! It help me a lot to know what you like and what no! ^_^****

 ** **See ya next chapter! ^_^****


	8. Chapter 8 - Fight Dragon - Part 2

****Hello everyone! I am back! I am sorry for being absent for so long! Lots of things happened, University, hospitals, exams, summer vocations, projects XD****

 ** **Anyway!****

Let me thank ****FoxyCarry**** ** **,**** ** **Kadence0622**** ** **,**** ** **pyschoJ**** for favoring my story, it means a lot to me! ^_^

And thank you ****JJ Poiso n**** ** **,**** ** **Kathay**** ** **,**** ** **Titaania**** for following my story, it means a lot to me! ^_^

And thank you ****crimsonassasin25**** for following and favoring my story, it means a lot to me! ^_^

 ** **Please Ejoy!****

* * *

 ** **Chapter 8****

 ** **Fight Dragon- Part 2****

Cecilia woke up from her phone buzzing next to her. She looked at the bright screen and blinded tried to see what it was. It was a message from an unknown number.

 ** _ **"Dragon got impatient... we are doing this tonight... they are coming for you... run until you get an other message... -Shou"**_**

The girl flattered her eyes sleepily and reread the text. 'That is bad...'

She unconsciously looked for Izaya next to her on the bed.

"Izaya wake up…. Ah… He is not here..." she noticed that next to her was no one and looking around the apartment which was empty.

"Where did that idiot go at a time like this?" she wondered loudly and pouted. She got worried but then she heard some whispers outside the door.

'They are here already?'

She got up immediately and tiptoed to the door. She peeked through the door's eye and saw some men dressed like soldiers outside her door. She immediately left the door and ran to get dressed. She wore her shoes found a jacket at Izaya's wardrobe, grabbed her bag throwing her phone inside and looked around to find a way out. Hearing them trying to break in by picking up the lock, she ran to the window and slide it open. The cold wind hit her face making her regret her decision to flee through there but hearing, again, the men banging the door she changed her mind. She climbed the window and got out sliding it close again behind her, letting her a very small place to put her legs and her arms. She looked down to see if she would survive the fall.

"No… I will die before I manage to heal… fuck it's freezing out here..." She felt her skin tensed up and her hand's hair raised.

She turned her body so she could face the apartment and took a deep breath. She jumped a little backwards and let her body fall in the empty space, having her arms raised up to catch the window's ledge. She grabbed it successfully. Then she heard the men breaking down the door.

She started to move slowly towards the right side until she reached the end of the ledge. She looked down to spot an other window under her. She let her go and fall to the one under her.

Now she was hanging from the window's ledge under hers when she heard the glass from her apartment sliding open. She quickly climbed and glued her body on the closed window and waited for the men to finish their observing from above.

When they closed the window she got herself hanging again and climbed down one more store until she found a narrow path which was surrounding the building at the seventh store and was leading to the emergency stairs. She walked there quickly, until she found her self on the street. She covered her face with her jacket and got lost into the dark alleys with her heart up to her mouth. She was running like there was no tomorrow. For a split moment she felt like she was in Yogsai-City and she was, once again, running for her dear life.

Once she felt safe again, she got her phone out and waited for any new messages. She was arguing with herself if she should call Izaya to check up on him or not. What if he got caught, or even worse, what if he betrayed them. She couldn't decide. He wasn't a character who was clear with his intentions after all. She said that she didn't mind if he was to betray them but that would hurt her.

Her thoughts were distracted from a new message from Shou.

 ** _ **"Alex and Izaya betrayed us…"**_**

She blinked and laughed nervously. She knew that this situation was too good to be true! Alex got them all involved and kept them alive until now only to get them to Dragon? Fair enough. But Izaya?

"How do you know that?" she asked back. A few minutes of torture passed when he sent her a few pictures. It was a picture of Alex and Izaya speaking outside the twins' building and an other picture of them leaving together with the caption __'Izaya has the ring'__. Shou continued with a new message.

 _ **"**_ _ ** _ **Meet me at the park near the cat cafe. Lets talk first."**_**_

Cecilia's lips trembled a little and she stopped walking trying to think of an excuse. It was too complicated. Alex was working for Dragon for years, he helped her escape from Yogsai-City but he came to Ikebukuro with Shou to get the ring. Later he saved Shou and even met with his family. They also got Blue Squares into the game. Then he got her meet with Shou to get Dragon out of the way and now he was with Izaya and the ring, one day before the supposed meeting between all of them. It was too confusing yet a brilliant plan. He made everyone trust him only to strike them. And what about Izaya and the ring? He told her that he didn't have it. What could he possibly gain from teaming up with Dragon? Or his reasons were different? He was a mysterious person and his way of thinking was totally different from the average person.

She put her phone in her bag and walked towards the park.

"Alex you idiot..." she murmured when she stepped her foot into the park and her phone rang again.

"Hello?"

" _Lia-nee! Please… we need help…"_

"Kururi? What happened?"

" _Someone came home and tried to kill us. Mairu shot them both but we are scared… Iza-nii is also in danger… can you help us?"_

"Yes… where are you?"

 _"We are at the cat cafe..."_

"Come to the park near it. I am there. I will take you to my house."

Kururi hanged up and she took her tired sister with her to the park. Cecilia didn't show up to Shou but message him that she would be late without explaining. She didn't want to put in danger the sisters. A few moments later she spotted the sisters and she took them to her house immediately. They were shocked beyond belief and Mairu seemed lost. The manipulator felt sorry for the little girls. For her, death was like a game anymore, but for them was something not so known.

She sat them down, prepared them some hot chocolate and asked for explanations.

"What happened?" she asked in as calmly as she could because time was running against them. Mairu didn't respond. She didn't even look at her. Kururi decided to speak instead.

"Aoba-kun told us about you and your adventure and about the fact that you needed mama's and papa's ring. So we decided to give it to you."

"You had the ring all this time?" Cecilia asked stunned. She didn't expect that.

"Yes. So we called Iza-ni to come and get it tonight. When he left some scary dudes approached him and he left with them. A little later two of them came to out apartment and tried to kill us. Mairu shot them..." she fell quiet and gave a sad glare at her sister.

"Where did you find the gun?"

"Aoba gave it to us for protection..." Kururi said. "Please don't be mad..." she cried.

"I am not mad. I am glad that you two are ok..." the older girl replied softly and hugged them both. They hugged her back weakly. Kururi seemed fine but Mairu was hurt.

"Do you happen to remember how those dudes with Izaya looked like?" she asked them.

"They were all like soldiers. One of them had red hair… he was standing under the light so we could see him better. And those who attacked us were soldiers and their faces were covered..." Kururi answered willingly.

"I am sorry for not being able to protect you Kururi..." Mairu whispered weakly all of a sudden.

"Mairu… you were up against well and hard trained men… with brute force you can't beat those monsters…" Cecilia petted her head with care to ensure her that she was not at fault. Mairu believed her and nodded slowly. Kururi hugged her tightly.

Cecilia kissed them both and got up.

"I am gonna ask a friend to come and take care of you. I have to go."

"Please be careful… and bring Iza-ni back too..." Kururi said sadly.

Cecilia smiled at both of them and left the house while calling Saya. She asked her to go and take care of them without giving any explanation. Saya agreed and Cecilia ran back to the twins' apartment. The door was broken as they said and the corpses of two men were down. She covered them with some towels she found and left for the park to meet with Shou.

* * *

 ** **With Alex and Izaya****

As Izaya was walking with Alex he was studying him from head to toes. He was clearly working for Dragon because he knew too much to be a stranger but what the raven didn't like was his previous statement, that he was working for anyone who was giving him more. Something was wrong. So he decided to start talking with him.

"So? What are you going to do with the ring? Are you going to give it to Dragon?" He asked with a cheerful tone. Alex glared at him in disbelief and shook his head.

"Are you planning on buying time?" He asked him back with a smirk.

"Hm... Maybe... But I am interested in the human behavior and yours is questionable."

"And why is that?"

"You said it your self. You work for those who give you more... Yet you are here trying to take something so valuable and give it away. That is not so smart for someone who wants a lot. Unless you don't know about the power of the ring! Because if you knew you wouldn't give it to someone else! That would be crazy! I mean-"

"I know about the ring's power." Alex interrupted him causing the information-broker to smirk satisfied.

"In your place Izaya I wouldn't smile." Alex continued with a smirk as he felt the other man's smile burning his back.

"And why is that?"

"Why you ask… you have been cornered and yet you continue to act like you don't care."

"I still don't get you..." Izaya said and his head tilled to the side.

"Well see around you. Two of my men are gone. They went to your sisters. They should be dead by now. And the manipulator too."

"You said that you would get her out of my apartment." Izaya ignored his statement about his sisters surprising Alex.

"Yes. Dead. Dragon wants her dead." Alex sang melodically while waving his arms in the air in circles. Izaya stood in silence until one of Alex's men pushed him to walk.

Izaya had the ring into his hand, squeezing it harder. This whole mess was the result of an old dude who didn't want to give up. He hated that he was dancing according to that old man's rhythm. He had to change that rhythm to his own pace.

"Why Dragon wants my sisters dead?" Izaya asked again as calm and collected he could be.

Alex stopped and turned around, gluing his forehead on Izaya's.

"Dragon wants dead anyone who knows about the ring. That includes everyone. You, the manipulator, Shou, the Blue Squares, your sisters… each one of you… you, all, will end up dead!" The redhead's smile was from ear to ear and Izaya could see that he was anticipating for something.

"That includes you, right?" Izaya decided to make him stop smiling.

"No. I am special. But in your place I wouldn't be worrying about me… how many times do I have to tell you?" his smile left and anger consumed him. He turned to his way again annoyed with Izaya following.

"Special huh?" Izaya whispered and let his insides completely drop heavily. For that one split second he felt nervous. For one second he felt worried for his sisters as they were family. But only for one second.

For Cecilia he was half-half. His mind was telling him that she would be ok as she could repair herself and she won't be in danger, his heart again was asking him a small question. __'What If'__.

' _What if they catch her…'_ He left her sleeping. She was exhausted.

' _What if she jumps of_ _f_ _the window to escape and she actually dies…'_ The window would be the only escape.

' _What if… what if he never sees her again because he will be dead...'_

He decided that torturing himself wasn't going to help him. It was meaningless thinking like this in a moment like that. He knew that he would end up dead and the best thing he could do was to enjoy himself. But still… it was bothering him…

"I still don't get you. Why should I worry about them?"

Alex stopped again, his men copied him, and turned to Izaya confused.

"Your sisters, your own blood, and your girlfriend may be dead by now and you don't care?"

"Nope." Izaya gave him a teethfull smile.

"Jesus..."

"Are you really in the right position to call __him__?" Izaya mocked him. Alex smirked not impressed and returned to his previous way. He had enough with his cheeky ass. He kept wondering what manipulator found on him.

For Izaya, apart from his sudden desire to see Cecilia and his sisters, this whole situation was the most amazing thing that could happen to him at that point. 'Lust' and 'Despair' were two things that when combined they could cause unimaginable damage. He couldn't help but wait until he meets with Dragon to enjoy his way or reaction. Yet he couldn't let them go too far with his sisters and Cecilia. He was responsible for them after all, so he text Shinra to go check on them ASAP, while checking if he was seen by the men around him.

He put the phone away and turned to the redhead. An idea popped into his head.

"Soo… I met Shou the other day. He was big and scary! And for Dragon to send him to kill me and Cecilia must mean that he was trusting him. Am I right?"

Alex snorted displeased with the course of the conversation but didn't respond. Izaya continued.

"And I bet that he was sent to kill Cecilia again, right? I wonder why Dragon asked you to come and get me… oh I know!" Alex raised one eyebrow. "I am weak… that is! Cecilia is by far stronger than me so-"

"Shut up! Shou is also going to get killed tonight like you as he failed to kill you two and then he disappeared. And I am not here because I am weak!" he yelled at the other man.

"I see..." Izaya smiled again and Alex lost it.

"Just shut up! If you say one more word I am gonna torture you until you die- "

"Just tell me how you knew that I had the ring and I will shut up." Izaya cut him calmly. Alex took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down.

"The only thing I did was to copy Cecilia's moves. I managed to fool lots of people. Aoba, Shou, Cecilia herself. It feels good surpassing your master... Aoba is good friends with your sisters. He told them about our little situation and that Cecilia would be safer if she had the ring, that was my idea, and they immediately said that they had the ring. Well Aoba told them to give the ring to you first so it could arrive to her safer. And they followed everything! Hahahaha I love it when they follow blindly. And we waited patiently until you show up. But what did you have in your mind? You fell on me and didn't even bother to apologize...I am hurt." Alex mocked him.

Izaya didn't answer. He understood that the guy next to him had managed to fool everyone. They were in a very desperate situation and he was dying to see everyone's expressions when they hear or realize that. It was something to look forward but Cecilia and Shou would be dead on arrival, so he only had Alex and Dragon. Not what he wanted but he could live with that. He smiled to himself.

* * *

 ** **At the same time with Shinra****

Shinra was sitting with his fiance, Celty, in the living room watching TV when he got the message from Izaya. When he read it he jumped up and dragged Clety out of the apartment explaining her on the way what Izaya told him.

 _"_ _ _My sisters and Cecilia might be dead. Go to their apartments."__ was the message saying. Shinra panicked and got furious on Izaya for being such a heartless human being. Celty asked her horse to run as fast as he could to arrive at the apartment of the twins as every second counted and the time they were losing was not coming back.

When they finally arrived, Celty almost flew them all the way to their opened window. Shinra picked inside to check if anyone was there. He faced a mess for a living room and glasses shuttered everywhere along with blood stains on the walls and floor. He jumped in, followed by Celty, and they looked for the two girls. But they only found two men, dressed like soldiers, bathed in their own blood. Shinra examined them both quickly and found out that they had been shot and both dead.

"Where are the girls? According to Izaya they should be here… but the house is empty."

[They may have left to somewhere safe… Where could they possibly go?]

"Hm… I highly doubt they went to Namie... What about Cecilia? Izaya told me that they had a good relationship."

[Let's go to Cecilia too. We need to make sure that she is alive too...]

"Right!"

And they left letting the two dead bodies into the house as later Cecilia passed by and covered them.

By the time they arrived at where Cecilia and Izaya were staying, the whole apartment was a mess too with Cecilia missing too.

* * *

 ** **With Shou and Cecilia****

"And that is what happened with Izaya..." Cecilia told Shou what the twins told her. Shou nodded.

"But that doesn't mean that Izaya is not guilty and that he is not working with Dragon." Shou said concerned.

"True… but I believe that Izaya is not thinking that way..."

"You mean?"

"I mean that Izaya is a guy who loves playing with people's emotions. So I believe that his actions are being influenced by this desire. His desire to observe the human action and reaction."

"So you believe that he is on our side?"

"That, I don't know… but I think that he might cause us problems for his own amusement. That is all..."

"That is not a very good reason to-"

"Um, make me a favor. Ask your friends to go and pick up the corpses. We need to hide them and ask Aoba to not tell the twins that they killed them… it will be too much..." she cut him off. She didn't want to hear the rest of his reasoning. She knew what he was going to say and she was trying to not follow that way of thinking.

Shou nodded and called Aoba. A few minutes later everything was settled and he was back to his position.

"Now tell me what happened..." she asked him.

"When I got back home and I went to sleep. A few hours later I smelt something burning. The house was on fire. I managed to get my brother and his family out and I send them to hide somewhere. I immediately suspected that Dragon was behind it. So I started to ask the neighbors if they saw anyone around and they told me that they saw some dudes dressed like soldiers. They were Dragon's men and the only one who knew where I was living was Alex. I got really angry and then I got a call from Aoba. He was angry and he was screaming at me. Guess why."

"Dragon burned down his hideout?" Cecilia guessed.

"Exactly. Nice one manipulator! I told him about my accident too and he send some of his men to find Alex. Later he send me the pictures I sent you..."

" I see…. So? What now?" she asked. She felt tired and exhausted for some reason. She had been betrayed by friends, family and lovers so many times in the past so one more time wouldn't matter, and Alex's betrayal was anticipated… but what hurt her was Izaya's actions for some reason. She knew Alex for so long, they worked together and he even helped her get out of that sinful city, but his ways when they met again were questionable. But she was still thinking about Izaya.

'What if he…no...' she shook her head violently.

"Cecilia?" Shou asked worried. Her face was white and she started to tremble.

"Alex… There is a possibility that Alex asked me to help Dragon having in mind something else…. He may had all this planned from the beginning." she said with a steady voice.

"That is a possibility… yes… It seems that you can't trust no one these days… no?" he gave her a silly smile. She didn't smile so he dropped his. But she did agreed with his statement.

"Do you believe that Izaya betrayed us?" she asked again.

"Hm… well if yes we will have to kill him too, right?"

"Right..." she said quietly. Her heart skipped a bit. She didn't like it. No. She didn't want Izaya to betray her. She stood in silence. Shou continued.

"Well we have to kill anyone who will come to our way or else they won't stop coming after us, Manipulator."

"Right…." she answered again.

Shou got what was in her mind. Izaya.

"You never learn… Manipulator..." Shou sighed. He knew her. She was trusting people too easily even if she was acting tough and that she doesn't trust anyone.

"You trust people too easily..." He made one more attempt to attract her attention to him. He failed once again.

Cecilia was lost in her thoughts. She had to think of Alex and the reason he had to betray them but she couldn't. Her mind was on Izaya. She didn't want to admit but she really enjoyed the time she had spent with him until then. Especially when she was working for him. She really missed him and she didn't want them to end up like that. She wanted him in her life more… They were friends after all. Right?

"Manipulator!"

"Yes?"

"Snap out of it!"

"Eh? Yes… yes..." she laughed awkwardly. She was hopeless and an idiot...

"Cecilia… I am going to kill them all… not only they killed my men but they even dared to hurt my brother, his family… and you... Are you with me?"

She looked at him with a 'cut-the-crap' expression.

"Ok… my brother and his family only."

"That was better…. Lets go..."

* * *

Izaya, in the mean time, followed Alex all the way to Dragon's hotel. According to Alex the hotel was all reserved under Dragon's name so it was empty. Alex leaded the way to the last floor to the suite with eight men behind them. Dragon was sitting on a chair with his servants around him. His men tied Izaya's arms behind his back and made him sit on the ground facing Dragon.

" Orihara Izaya! My my! You grew up so much! I haven't seen for so long. If I had a daughter I would definitely marry her to you." Dragon opened his arms welcoming him with a huge smile.  
" Dragon. I can't say that I am as happy to see you. But I am flattered." Izaya bowed with his upper half comically and smirked.

Alex stood behind Dragon along with his three servants. Two men stood outside the suite's door, other two at the entrance of the hotel and other five on each floor of the hotel. Now into the room were five guards, three servants, Dragon, Izaya and Alex.

" Izaya I will cut directly to the chase. Give me the ring."  
Izaya didn't answer. Dragon waved at Alex who walked towards Izaya. They looked at each other smiling while Alex looked through his clothes to get the ring. Izaya was giggling on purpose to make Alex embarrassed and leave with the ring with a full red face. Izaya enjoyed every bit of it.

Dragon got the ring into his hand and smiled.

" Finally... Now I will be able to get the power I want to."

" I highly doubt it..." Izaya said and waited.

" Why? Because it's cursed?" Dragon asked and laughed.

" And that too. But also because right now the ring is useless."

The room suddenly got quiet and everybody stared at Izaya.

" What do you mean?"Alex asked braking the painful silence.

" I mean that the ring is cursed because you need to uplift the curse." Izaya explained. Alex and Dragon were so confused and doubtful. He couldn't wait to hear their answers. Alex and Dragon looked each other. Alex thought that it was fishy but Dragon believed Izaya.

" And what do the have to do to sift the curse?" He asked. Izaya was holding his laughter but composed himself and cleared his throat.

" That stone is a gift from a soldier to the goodness of love, Aphrodite. Aphrodite accepted and gave it back to him telling him that his love gave it the power to make his wishes come true."

Alex and Dragon were left speechless.

" Well that is a part of the story. According to mythology the soldier was greedy and he even asked to become a god himself. Aphrodite got angry and cursed him that he would be able to get his ring grand only one wish every full moon with the blood of other soldiers. The stronger sacrifices the stronger the ring."

Alex and Dragon didn't speak for a few minutes. Alex found the whole thing incredibly stupid but Dragon didn't.

" So we need strong sacrifices. I see I see." Dargon smiled creepily.

Izaya looked at both of them. The one who looked worried was Alex. Izaya guessed that Alex was like that because the strongest among all was Cecilia who was a siren aka a monster. But Dragon had ordered for her death. Dragon again was feeling relieved.

"Thank god I have so many soldiers with me." he said and turned to his three servants.

"Take all my men and drove them on the roof. And kill them." Dragon announced and his servants nodded as they exited the suit. Izaya was amazed by his idiocy but decided to keep with the act.

Then Alex's phone rang. Alex picked it up and his facial expression changed drastically. His men informed him that they had killed Shou along with his family, the two men who were to kill the twins were missing and that they failed to find Cecilia. Alex hanged up slowly and carefully. His face was dark but he decided to not mention anything.

"Who was it?" Dragon asked him quickly.

"Our man are back. They succeed. Shou, his family, Izaya siblings and the manipulator are all dead." He smiled pressing himself from screaming. Dragon ignored him and turned to Izaya again.

"Hohohohoooo, now tell me Izaya. Your sisters are dead… would you like to join them? The more the sacrifices I guess is also the more power… don't you think, Alex?"

"Eh? Yes… yes..."

Izaya stared quietly Dragon and then Alex. Their attitudes were completely different. Uneasiness was taking over.

Alex was nervous and he knew that he was lying. All those years of experience were a good gift for him at a moment like this. Or he just didn't want to accept that his sisters and Cecilia were all dead. It just couldn't occur to him.

'They are not dead… he is just bluffing.' he kept repeating into his mind but he couldn't believe it either. Someone had to be dead. It was too good all of them to be alive.

" And today it happened to have a full moon, right Izaya?" Dragon said happily making Izaya lost his color and break his train of thoughts. He hadn't thought of that. He cursed himself under his breath and stared at his enemy. He was more than overwhelmed. All this info were too much to handle. Something that hadn't happen before. He shook his head to clear it and placed his eyes on Dragon. Then he noticed.

Dragon was restless. He was anxious. His eyes were wondering around the room and they were always landing on the clock on the wall. He had a huge smile, frozen on his face and when he was giving orders he was speaking faster and faster. Izaya realized that something was after him and he was in a hurry, despaired and lustful. That was and the reason he accepted his ridiculous excuses about the ring and the sacrifices. He was in a hurry because of the full moon. He was doomed. He was doomed to die over a lie. But he at least had managed to take out Dragon's men. Cecilia, if she was alive, now only had to face Dragon and Alex.

"Ok! Time to work. Alex go with the rest to the roof. I will stay here for a while to speak to Izaya..."

Dragon showed him the door. But Alex didn't move. Izaya looked at him confused. Dragon repeated himself.

"Alex! I said leave!"

"Yes… right now..." Alex replied with shaken voice and stood behind Dragon. The older man tried to turned around to see the redhead man but his underling had other plans. He took out a pocket knife and with his free hand he raised Dragon's chin letting Izaya have a clear view of Dragon's neck.

"What are-" Izaya tried to ask but then everything got red. Alex with a cold face, with no emotion, dragged the blade of his pocket knife all the way on Dragon's neck, giving him a clear cut from one side to an other. A fountain of blood bloomed, and the hot, thick, red liquid ran lonely on the Dragon's dead body.

Izaya stared at the blood and then at Alex. His face continued to be expressionless as he wiped his pocket knife on Dragon's clothes. He walked towards Izaya with the pocket knife still in his hand and stood above him as well.

"Is it true that they are dead?" Izaya asked completely shocking Alex.

"Hah… is that your last question? Aren't you going to say anything like 'You were behind them all?' or something like that?" Alex whined like a baby seeking for attention from his parents to praise him. "Well, I will kill you so you will see if they are dead or not all by yourself." Alex finished.

Izaya smirked. "Be my guess then." and Alex stabbed him. He knelt down and pushed the pocket knife into Izaya.

"You… had it...*couch* all… planed..." Izaya managed to say smirking before Alex threw his body on the floor outraged for being played by a near-to-death man. He was so angry that he took Izaya from the back of his jacket and dragged him all the way to the roof. Noted that he took the stairs causing Izaya to bleed faster.

When they finally arrived to the roof they only faced Dragon's three servants and the dead bodies of 18 men. They were all dead and bleeding on the floor.

"Where is Master?" One of the servants asked Alex.

"He is getting ready. Here is the ring and one more victim… we need to start." Alex said emotionless and he gathered the dead bodies in the middle of the roof. Then he added three more and waited. He knew that Cecilia was coming.

* * *

Cecilia and Shou were standing outside the hotel. They were smoking their last cigaret and waited to get the courage to get inside.

"Ne… Manipulator… You have feelings for that motherfucker Izaya?" Shou asked his companion.

"Who knows… what I know is that I don't want to lose him… from my life… it's weird the feelings that I have for him… but I don't want to look at them right now… I am not ready yet… so… I don't know… I am sorry..."

"You are sorry? HAHAHAHA….You never change… And if everyone dies… what do you plan on doing?"

"Hah… if no one sees me I will continue my 'quiet' life. If not… I maybe leave the country… Russia is a nice place you know..."

They both laughed when she heard faint screams of agony coming from the hotel.

"I heard screams…" she looked worried at Shou. He nodded and they both threw their cigarets as they ran to the hotel. But their bad luck was following them as the woman behind the counter wouldn't let them enter the hotel. Cecilia took a deep breath and got closer to the woman whispering into her ear.

" _You will do as I say._ _You will tell us where your client is, you will give us the master key and then you will forget about everything as you are leaving the hotel for a sudden emergency at your house. They told you that it flood and you were unable to call for a substitute. Then you will come back, like nothing happened."_

The woman nodded and told them that Dragon was at the last floor, she gave them the master key and then left the hotel to nowhere. Shou patted Cecilia's shoulder congratulating her.

"That is a siren for you!"

She took the key and they proceed to the elevator.

"Take this" Shou handed her a gun while in the elevator. She accepted it and blindly put it on her belt. When they heard the sound of the elevator telling them that they arrived at their destination, Shou immediately jumped out with his gun raised. Cecilia stood behind him for a while to realize what was going to happen from now on. She didn't think of anything at the end. She was going blindly.

"Yolo..." she whispered and she jumped out too. She managed to get a glimpse of Shou's back turning at the next corner and followed him.

"This is his room." He said and opened it with his master key. "Slowly..." he said and entered the room with his gun at front. She followed.

The room was quiet. No one was there expect of Dragon's dead body and lots of blood.

"Oh you gotta be kidding me!" Shou shouted loudly and kicked the floor.

"Damn… Who do you think that did it?" Cecilia asked as she approached Dragon to take a better look at the cause of his death.

"I don't care! I wanted to kill him myself! Now I will have only Alex to kill! That is not fun!" Shou continued to nag irritating the girl.

"Oh shut up! I have news for you! Guess who killed the big guy!"

"WHO?"

"Alex..."

"No… that bastard! Whose side is he with? And where the fuck is he? And how do you know that?" Shou was out of his mind. He was so angry for being played like that he could kill anyone around him. Cecilia walked away from the body and went to the pool of blood in the middle of the room. There he noticed a message.

"Roof… they are at the roof… lets go!" she said and left the room. Shou ran after her and they started to climb the stairs.

"I asked you something!"

"The way of cutting is similar to Alex's. Shut up!"

They arrived at the roof and they saw a pill of corpses, Alex sitting on a chair and a body in front of him.

"Oh my god… Izaya!" Cecilia ran to the raven and turned him around to face her. She took out his pocket knife and cut his ropes.

"So… we met again under… unfortunate… events...*couch*" Izaya commented with his cheeky smile. Only he knew how glad he was seeing her again. Cecilia looked at him sad and saw his wound. She torn her blouse and pressed his wound to stop the bleeding.

"How are my sisters?" he asked next.

"They are fine… at my house with Saya..."

"Manipulator." Shou called her with a concerned tone. She looked where he was pointing at and saw Alex sitting with the ring between his fingers. His face was grave.

"Welcome… Shou… Manipulator… or maybe… Cecilia…" his tone was weird and distant.

"Alex… what are you doing?" Cecilia asked.

"I am trying to free the city! The city you gave up and left!" he snapped at her. She was taken back form what she heard. She couldn't understand.

"What are you saying?"

"You betrayed the city Manipulator! At the beginning I thought that you were right for leaving. You see, you were my friend. You were always right… but I was wrong… The only thing that you were was a heartless bitch! And you show it to me when we met again! You were cold and distant! And I was blaming my self for hurting your feelings..."

"You know very well why I left the city! Don't you dare-"

"You were a coward!"

"I was weak! I couldn't protect my self! I couldn't trust anyone! I trusted you and you betrayed me!"

"I never betrayed you!" Alex snapped at her.

"Yes you did! What nonsense you are speaking of! I-"

"Manipulator! Enough… this guy is not the Alex you knew..." Shou interrupted the nonsense he was seeing being played in front of him. It was unbearable to watch.

"He is mad..." Izaya added making the girl change her view to him. She placed gently her hand on his forehead and took his hair from his eyes.

A metallic sound was heard at the front and an uncomfortable feeling overtook the girl. Then she heard an other metallic sound from behind her. She raised her head and saw the end of a gun pointed at her.

"Alex drop the gun!" Shou warned as he pointed Alex with his gun too.

Cecilia didn't speak and neither moved. She calmly stood at her place waited for Alex to decide his next move. She had already used her voice and her throat was hurting like crazy from all the yelling. She was at her limit so she couldn't order him to drop the gun and surrender. So she waited. At the same time Izaya was studying her.

"I don't care… she needs to die for the freedom of the city… you too Shou… so let me kill you both! With your power the ring will be powerful and I will be able to free the city-"

"This is nonsense! No ring can save that city! That city is as good as dead Alex..." Cecilia spoke.

Her heart was pounding fast and she couldn't stay calm any more.

"You are lying…" he whispered with madness taking him over.

"I am not lying..." she raised the tone of her voice. "The city corrupted us Alex… it's over! That city is the death of us!"

"No! I will save the city!" Alex shook his head closing his eyes with anger refusing to listen.

"ALEX DROP THE GUN OR ELSE I WILL SHOOT YOU!" Shou yelled threatening to kill him on the spot.

"Don't… kill him… arg..." Cecilia managed to say as she grabbed her throat being in incredible pain. Izaya's eyes widened from her actions.

"It's your limit Manipulator! Now shut up and accept your fate!" Alex announced with a hysterical laugh.

"I refuse!"

"Nani?"(Too much JOJO XD)

"I won't accept my fate like this… I will fight it like I always did! You can accept yours, I don't care!" she murmured as lower as she could trying to not damage her vocals more. Alex got distracted for a while letting his arm drop a little.

"Chee… Alex… just fuck off already!" And with that Shou shot him at his leg causing him to fall on the ground cursing Shou.

"Yeah yeah… shut up..." Shou walked to him and pointed his gun on his head while taking the gun from Alex's hand. He turned him around and locked his hands behind his back making him unable to move anymore.

Cecilia breathed again and smiled at Izaya who kept staring at her. She moved her head asking him what was wrong. He just smiled and closed his eyes.

"Nothing…." he said and then they heard Alex laughing again.

"Its over!" he said. "I failed… now we all have to die here..."

"Eh? What do you mean? Explain your self!" Shou immediately asked him. Alex smiled and told him that Dragon had planted bombs to all over the building. When sun would come out the hotel will be only pieces of junk and dust. Everyone lost their color. Cecilia got up immediately and tried to get Izaya on her back.

"What are you doing?" Shou asked her.

"I… am… getting… out… of…. Here…. Take… Alex… and … go..." she said spelling each word. Shou nodded and knocked out Alex so he could move him easily. Cecilia glared at him but focused on Izaya who was still bleeding.

She got him on her back and they left the roof as soon as possible. By the time they left the hotel, the sun was up and the hotel collapsed into pieces with their past as Alex promised them.

* * *

Cecilia was walking first with Izaya on her back, Shou was following, dragging Alex with him. They arrived at Cecilia's house shortly after. They were all exhausted emotionally and Izaya was at the verge of losing all his blood. On their way he lost consciousness making Cecilia freak out and run the rest of the way.

When they entered the house they saw Shinra, Celty and Saya sitting around the kitchen table, with a bottle of whisk. Cecilia let carefully Izaya on one of her couches and went towards the table. Shinra left the table to go to Izaya as Cecilia took Saya's glass and drank the crystal clear liquid from it. She felt it burn her insides as it was finding his way down to her stomach but she felt better. Her nerves calmed down and she was now able to think straight. She turned to Saya.

"How are the kids?"

"They are sleeping at the guest room… what happened to you four?"

"You should all go and get some rest… we will talk tomorrow… Shou tied up Alex somewhere… his legs too… I don't want blood on my floor..." she said tiredly making everyone look at her like she was an alien. She was cold and heartless. She was the old Manipulator Saya knew.

Shou tied up Alex's hands and legs and let him on the second couch. Shinra bandaged Izaya's wound and looked at Cecilia for further orders.

"Shou you will sleep on the couch next to Alex's to keep an eye on him, but please don't kill him. Celty would you move Izaya to my room? Also Shira, that idiot has a bullet on his leg..."

Celty nodded, took Izaya and moved him as carefully as she could upstairs while Shinra took care of Alex's leg, tied it up to stop any further bleeding and went upstairs to see Izaya too.

Cecilia saw Alex being lost and she sighed heavily.

She was tired. She was feeling like something was missing… maybe it was the fact that she didn't manage to kill Dragon herself. But he was dead. She was free… for real this time. She should have been happy and full of hope for the future. Dreams that maybe… maybe will become true…

But she wasn't feeling anything. She was empty and all she wanted was to sleep.

"Cecilia! What happened?" Saya asked again.

"I don't know… the only thing I know is that Dragon is dead… Alex is a traitor and now I should be happy for being free but I am not, that is what happened! Something else?" Cecilia answered, took a new glass from the counter and sat at the table. Took the bottle in front of her and pure the whisk inside the glass.

"Want some ice?" Shou asked. She nodded. He placed some ice cubes into her glass, repeated for his glass and filled it with whisk too as he sat next to her. Saya kept watching them trying to make them talk but she knew that it was hopeless. Their nerves were at their limits. One wrong move and everything was over.

Then Shinra and Celty got down. Saya got up and approached them quickly.

"Izaya will be fine. He didn't lose so much blood and the wound wasn't that deep to cause problems to any internal organs. And looking at you I bet that you won't speak tonight huh?" he asked and Saya pushed them out of the house.

"We will come tomorrow Cecilia… we need to talk..." she said and she left closing the door behind her.

Now into the house was Cecilia and Shou at the table drinking, Alex asleep on the couch, the twins sleeping in the guest room and Izaya sleeping in Cecilia's bedroom.

The night was long and the bottles left empty by the next morning a lot.

* * *

 ** **OK! And Dragon is out! RIP!****

 ** **XD Thank you for reading! Please review!****

 ** **Everything is welcomed!****

 ** **I hope you have a good day! ^_^****

 ** **See ya next chap!****


	9. Chapter 9 - Clear - Part 1

**Hello everyone!**

 **Welcome back to one more chapter!**

 **Thank you for your patience and thank you for continuing supporting me with your views, favorites and follows! That means so much to me!**

 **Also I am really sorry for not updating fast enough. My health doesn't allow me to do lot's of things lately.**

 **And hell yeah Christmas is coming into town! Have you decorate your Christmas tree yet? Me I haven't, but I plan to soon XD**

Thank you **Kurakihiya** for following my story! It means a lot to me! ^_^

 **Thank you everyone and please enjoy the new chap! ^_^**

 **P.S. This and the next chap will be describing the days until New Year's ^_^**

 **And also I uploaded the first chapter of a new Fanfiction on Yuri On Ice, so feel free to check it!**

 **And today is my birthday! So happy birthday to me!**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Clear - Part 1**

 **December 26**

Izaya woke up painfully later that morning as his wound was still open. He was still exhausted and he couldn't move his upper body. He looked around him half blinded by the sun and tried to understand where he was. Then he realized that something heavy was on his chest. He couldn't move to shake it off but thanks to the little light in the room he could see that _that_ thing on his chest was connected to something bigger, which was right next to him, and the smell of alcohol was strong on this one. He tried to move that object lightly but he only heard it moan tiredly. It was a female voice he knew too well. He got used to the current lighting and now he could see her better. It was indeed Cecilia, who was sleeping right next to him, with her left hand on his chest. He stared at her for a few minutes with a soft smile on his face before falling back to sleep. He felt relaxed next to her and he didn't mind her arm at all. He felt like she cared for him, something that he hadn't felt since his parents' death. It was a warm and comfy feeling someone to have, so he decided to let it last for as long as he could. He was feeling safe.

However, when he woke up again, it was already in the middle of the day and the first thing he faced was Shinra's face.

"Good afternoon Izaya-kun! You finally woke up! Let me check your wound." The doctor said smiling like an idiot while he undressed his patient and changed the bandages quickly. Izaya fell on the bed again and stared at Shinra.

"Why are you grinning like that?"

"Nothing… I just found you and Cecilia-san sleeping together!" he said and hid his face behind his palms, pretended to be embarrassed. Celty who was also in the room, panicked and started to write.

[Don't worry. He is an idiot. He didn't do anything!]

"This is rude, Celty! I would never do anything perverted to anyone else but you!" he complained but received a kick by his fiance. She returned to Izaya.

[Are you feeling ok? Hurt? You need something?]

"No thank you Celty. May I ask where is Lia?"

"She has a hangover..." Shinra interrupted.

"What about my sisters?"

"They are perfectly fine… a little shaken but fine. They are at the guest's room. You are at Cecilia's."

"Alex? The ring?"

"You better ask Cecilia-san about those things. But for now rest. They said that they have to clear the situation on their own for now. She will inform you once you are better." Shinra got up and gave a kiss on Celty's helmet.

"They?" Izaya raised his eyebrow.

"Hm… a guy named Shou and that Alex are down and speaking angrily right now."

 _Are you out of your fucking mind?_

Cecilia's voice was heard from below them.

"Oh she seems angry… Quite surprising, taking into consideration the amount of alcohol she consumed last night. Well time for me to go… Rest well and I will come again later!" he turned to his fiance. "Celty lets go from the balcony."

Celty nodded and they left in silence and in a blink of an eye they were gone. Izaya was left alone until his door opened and his two sisters entered. They jumped on the bed, Kururi at the right and Mairu at the left and they buried themselves under Izaya's arms.

"Can we stay here? Down there they are fighting..."

"Yes… can we?"

"Ok.."

Izaya was to tired to object but he didn't care either. So they all fell into sleep once again, but Izaya kept thinking about that feeling he had that morning.

* * *

 **Meanwhile in the living room**

Cecilia, Saya, Shou and Alex were all out of their minds and were trying to get what they was just been said.

"You are kidding me right? You thought that they would give you part of Yogsai-City to rule over? Are you lost or something?" Cecilia went insane from hearing Alex's reasoning.

"Shut up! It was the only solution!" Alex shouted back at her.

"And from when do you care that much for that city?" she countered him.

"That city raised us Manipulator! We own her something!"

"Yeah! Our deaths! That city is the reason why we are like this right fucking now! I can't believe that you went as far as trying to kill us for some empty promises! I thought you were smarter than this!" She was devastated. No, she was shocked from the fact that her friend was so dumb!

"How do you know that they were empty?" Alex spoke slowly almost whispering like a kid who was trying to refuse the truth.

"Wanna bet Alex?" she growled back at him.

Silence.

"Manipulator there is no reason for us to keep him alive. Let me kill him and everything will be fine." Shou walked into the conversation.

"No… if what he says is true, there is a possibility one of them coming here to find him. If they find us it's over." Cecilia murmured annoyed.

"How are they going to recognize you?" Saya asked Cecilia.

"I don't know… but we know that nothing stays hidden for a long time." It was something that all of them agreed with. Cecilia sat down and tried to calm down.

"For whom do you work and what is his plans." she asked her old friend calmer. Alex surprisingly spoke.

"I work for a guy named Don."

"Don?" all three of them asked in union.

"I don't know anyone like that..." Saya said.

"Me neither… Shou?" Cecilia asked Shou who was skeptical.

"I heard about him right after your death when everyone was panicking. He was walking down the street and preaching that your death was a sign that an era ended in Yogsai-City. That now was the time for them to team up and fight the ones who ruled the city."

"Did he have any followers?"

"At the beginning no… but a few weeks later yes… and lots of them. It was crazy! But the supporters were mostly simple citizens who never were into any of the gangs and never tried to do something for the city."

Cecilia looked at Alex.

"So you followed him, right?" Cecilia asked him. He nodded and started to explain his reasons.

"At that time, you were already out of action and you were trying to rest from that attack. I was scared and I was angry. You, the almighty Manipulator, the one and only, who nobody could kill, was now useless. I felt vulnerable. I felt like the city was going to die. I wanted our old city back. So when I heard him saying that the city would be like in the past I believed in him. So I followed him. He said that because he saw potential in me I would be a good ruler. One of his goals was to take down those who were ruling the city and replace them with his own men. Because I was working already with Dragon he assigned me to take him out. But I knew that it was almost impossible to do that on my own. He took most of Dragon's men with his own ways. The only thing left was Dragon and his close men. I became Dragon's right hand and he told me about the ring. That ring would be my strength and I needed it badly. Then he asked for someone to go and get it from the owner, Orihara, and I thought of you Manipulator. The best when it came to cases like that. I didn't like it as an idea but I was so desperate. And you accepted almost immediately. So you were send away. At least that way you would be safe, of course if you were to do your job right. But you didn't. I didn't expect you to act like that! You took a job and you didn't give it any kind of thought!"

Alex's sudden force of anger made Cecilia to take a step back as it startled her but after thinking about his words she felt bad about her actions and frowned. She realized that Alex had a valid point there. She never thought about it like that. With that way of thinking it was actually her fault.

"Time passed and you hadn't communicated. Don was in a hurry and he wanted Dragon dead as soon as possible. So I made Dragon to be in a hurry too and come and find you. Dragon asked Shou to come and take out you and Izaya. That… that caught me in surprise… Well, you and Shou had a past so I could trust him that he wouldn't hurt you… at least too much? Anyway… I wasn't assigned to take out any of you." he turned to Shou. "I never ordered the death of anyone!" he turned to Cecilia again, "I got really angry with you because you were digging your own grave. If you had found the ring earlier then you wouldn't know anything and everything would be working on clock. But you didn't. And because of that more people died than I had planned at the beginning… hah…" he went silent for a while and then rage took him over.

"It was all your fault MANIPULATOR! IF IT WASN'T FOR YOU EVERYTHING WOULD BE FINE NOW! YOU BETRAYED ME! No… YOU ARE THE CAUSE OF THE DEATH OF SO MANY PEOPLE!"

Saya just shook her head disappointed and Shou dropped his dramatically. Then he got up and walked to the kitchen to get a painkiller. His head was killing him and Alex's screams weren't helping at all. It seemed that him and Saya didn't took Alex's words for granted and neither paid too much attention at the last sentences as they thought that Alex just wanted to throw the blame to someone else. But the same thing didn't implied to Manipulator.

"Oi! Manipulator, want a painkiller? We drank too much last night. Also that dude won't shut up… damn my head is killing me… oi! Manipulator! I am talking to you!"

But the Manipulator didn't give any answer. She was not listening to him at all. She was in deep thought, and Alex's words started to make more sense.

"Oi!" he called her again.

No answer once again. She was battling with her self. What Alex just said was entirely true. She was entirely at fault and they attracted attention because of her and now who knows who else will come after them. She closed her eyes tightly and woke up from Saya's continuous callings.

"Cecilia! CECILIA!"

"Eh? Oh sorry… did you say something?" Cecilia looked at Saya and tears started to form in her eyes but she took them away quickly. She got up and went to Shou asking for a glass of water.

"You are feeling guilty right?" Alex snapped suddenly and started to laugh hysterically.

"Shut up!" Shou barked back at him and Alex zipped it immediately. Shou turned to Cecilia with a softer expression on his face.

"Don't listen to him."

"He is right though..." she whispered back at him and took the glass of water in her hands with an extra painkiller.

"Saya… what do you think we should do with Alex?" she asked Saya, looking for help in this situation she got them all in.

"I don't know… we can't let him go back-"

"Just let me go… they will come to kill me anyway if I don't go back soon..."

"I don't trust you..." Shou spatted angrily. "No! I know what we should do to him. Let's send him to Blue Squares. Cause of his boss they had lots of casualties… and I want to kill him too! He played my friend and I even took him to my family! He only knew where they were staying!" Shou shouted angrily and walked towards Alex grabbing him by the collar of his shirt.

"I said that I am not the one who ordered for the killing! I didn't expect him to do that!" Alex shouted back at Shou, but instead, Shou threw a punch at his face, sending him at the other side of the living room.

"Ok that is enough for now." Saya warned them both.

"You are suspicious too, Saya was, right?" Shou asked.

"And why is that?" Saya asked back calmly.

"When Cecilia was called Manipulator you didn't react at all. You left the city before her so called death but I bet that you knew who the manipulator was… yet you didn't react at all when hearing about her. She doesn't like anything like she used to after all."

Saya took a step back and exhaled. She stared at Cecilia who was sitting on the dinner table waiting for her answer.

"That is because Cecilia told me that she was Manipulator. But that is not the moment to talk about that… I am not the enemy here… Right Alex?"

"Yes… she has nothing to do with all this." Alex confirmed Saya's sayings.

Then Cecilia spoke again. "Alex your motive was to kill Dragon right?"

"That is correct..."

"Does Don know about me or Shou?"

"I never mentioned you to him, neither my plan or the ring."

"Then go back and tell them that you killed Dragon and do the job you first started to do."

"WHAT?" Shou screamed at her. "Are you going to let him go just like that? I want revenge! I want to get revenge for my men!"

"What I told you about the attack at the warehouse was Dragon's plan. Not mine. But indeed I was the one who asked to burn your house down but I didn't expect you to be there!"

"Don't try to get away from your responsibilities!" Shou was ready to beat him up again.

"Cecilia… how do you know that I won't betray you?" Alex spoke to the girl ignoring Shou's threats.

Cecilia looked at him with an innocent smile, and he knew exactly what that smile meant.

"Oh, I know where your family lives… they left Yogsai-City years ago but..."

"But you found them… you bitch!"

"Let me remind you were the one who asked me to… and I still have connections with them… so~"

"I get it..." Alex groaned.

"Good boy" The girl mocked him.

"Bitch..."

"Thank you." she gave him an even bigger and eviler smile.

"WOW…." Shou was amazed and grinned. "Can I beat him up a little before he leaves?"

"Go on..."

And while Shou was fighting with Alex, Saya caught Cecilia at the corner.

"Cecilia… after all this chaos let me speak to you… privately… and you know that I lied… but I will explain to you everything later… for now make sure to finish this for your own good..."

"Ok..."

"Then I will take my leave… if you need anything please call me..."

"Will do."

Saya left skeptical letting Cecilia find a way with the two idiots fighting in her living room. Once Shou finished with Alex he left him on the floor bloody making Cecilia snap at him.

"How many times have I told you that I don't want blood on the floor, god damn it!?"

Those were the last words Saya heard from Cecilia as she found her way back to her hotel. On her way there she took her 'special' phone and dialed a number quickly. She waited for a few minutes when the receiver picked it up.

"Boss? We need to talk…"

"Do you have news?"

"Yes… Alex said that someone named Don is behind everything. He intends to take control of the city. Do you know him?"

"Don? I do know about him. He is no good news that is one for sure. So he was behind everything huh?"

"It seems so. So? What am I supposed to do?"

"Nothing. Don't attract other attention on you. Once I learn more about Don and his actions I will inform you."

"Ok Boss…"

"Ok. See ya."

"Yes… and Boss?"

"Yes?"

"Please be careful."

"I will."

And he hanged up. Saya stood in silence in the middle of her way to her hotel staring sadly at her phone.

"Be careful… you idiot..."

* * *

The news about the hotel who collapsed spread quickly and the whole city was talking about it the very same day. Especially at Ikebukuro. Police was out there looking for evidence and the causes but the building was dead flat on the ground and dust. No survivors, no bombs, no anything. Also the snow that started to fall once again, after so many days of absence, covered a big part of the remainings.

Cecilia, after the heated meet up she had that evening, called her agency and asked them for a special cleaning at the twin's house. The bodies were not there anymore, as the Blue Squares took them, prior that night, and to Cecilia's surprise her company didn't ask any question, but she did tell them a few lies just in case.

Alex was locked at the basement of the house and Shou left to find his family, but of course, after he gave to Cecilia the ring. Cecilia was left alone in the house for the time being, as night took over. She sat at the dinner table and kept thinking what she should prepare for dinner, so she would stop thinking about the rest. Then one of the twins, Mairu, came down.

"Um… Cecilia-nechan..." she said slowly but her tone was betraying her mental state. It was shaken. The siren looked at her and smiled warmly.

"Come… sit honey. Want something to eat or drink?" Cecilia asked her kindly but the girl refused and sat at the other side of the table and looked at the older girl in a serious matter.

"Is something the matter honey?"

"Yes… I want to know about those who attacked us… and you and Iza-nii. You know… me and my sister may don't have and the closest relationship with Iza-nii but he is our only family… our parents died years ago in an accident… and from then we were left all alone. So I want to know who were those who tried to hurt my family." Her cheeks were now reddish and someone could feel the tension into the room. Cecilia blinked but chuckled lightly.

"What is so funny?"

"Oh my love. You remind me of me a few years ago. You are so brave you know. You managed to save your self and your little sister from such dangerous enemies. You should be very proud of your self." she smiled at her widely. "And about those enemies… they won't come after you anymore. They are all gone."

The girl jumped from that statement. She let her head fall at front and tried to hold her tears.

"It's ok to cry. You feel relieved, right?"

"I just don't want to feel like I will lose my family again. I will take any kind of weight on my shoulders and next time I will make sure to kill the enemies… this time I did half the job..." she got up quickly and smiled at the older girl. "Thank you Cecilia-nechan!" she ran to her and jumped on her hugging her tightly. Cecilia hugged her back and let her go up again to her siblings.

"You did your job well done, honey. So don't be so discouraged..." she whispered as she took another sip of water and decided that she should cook something simple, like fries with fried chicken for dinner.

* * *

 **December 27**

"It seems like your wound is closing nicely, Izaya-kun!" Shinra sang as he was getting new bandages from his bag. Izaya didn't say anything but just followed him with his eyes in silence.

"You know… Shinra..." he started. The doctor returned to his side with a small smile and started to fix him. "How would you described me?"

"Hm… manipulative, love humans to a completely another level, you don't care about the feelings of others, dangerous for the humanity. I believe that you may be a sociopath but again I may be wrong… you fail to get what other people feel or think. Or you just ignore them and you fail to feel for them…"

"I see…. So for someone like me it's more likely impossible to have feelings for someone else, right?"

Shinra jumped surprised but got immediately interested in his words.

"I don't know. It's always a possibility for someone like you to have feelings for someone. You may explain to me that feelings?"

Shinra had a feeling that Izaya was talking about Cecilia but he didn't want to force him so he let him speak and calculate everything himself.

"I don't know what to say. All those years I have always loved humans equally. I never had the slightest love interest. I never thought that anyone would actually love me back. I never cared. But those last days were weird. No. Those last days were the weirdest from the past ones. I started to get worried. Worried about my sisters and worried about Lia. You have no idea how relieved I was when I saw her alive and fine. I was also worried about her when she was badly hurt at my apartment too. I never thought about it, the reason that I took her home, the reason that I protected her like that. Until now I thought that it was because I owned her, but..." he paused.

"But?" Shinra asked ready to explode as he was so into this and Izaya was just silent.

"But… I don't know… you know that yesterday I woke up and Lia was next to me. She had drank as you said… but I didn't hate it. You know how much I dislike people touching me. But with her is different. I actually liked it. It was something that I haven't felt for years..." he gave a smile or uncomfortableness.

"The feeling of someone caring about you?" Shinra asked with a kind smile.

"Yes… Also being safe next to someone… It's weird. And exhausting..."

"Well I find it beautiful. You should embrace it instead of tossing it away. After all you gave her some affection too!" Shinra winked at him with a mischievous smile. Actually his smile was from ear to ear as he was actually rooting for them from the darkness.

"Embrace it, huh? I don't know. Of course I find it interesting! It's one of the lots of feelings a human being has."

"She is not a full blood human..." the doctor corrected him.

"But I am. So this is going to be something like an observation for me. Human with monster… it will be interesting."

"You do realize that me and Celty are just _that_."

"Yes but you were in love with her from the moment you saw her and you-"

Izaya stopped for a moment. He was frozen. That was right. Shinra fell for her from the first moment he saw her. He didn't… Right?

He came back eventually tossing that possibility away. "Well, it's not about you, it's about me. I am the one who was never interested in anything else but humans but I never intended to have anything to do with them… romantically at least."

"Um… that didn't sound so good… are you planning on playing with her?" Shinra felt like he had to see that coming. They were talking about Izaya after all. The master of manipulation when it came to feelings and especially to romantic ones.

"No… I am planning on going all out with her, open my heart to those feelings and see where it will get me."

"What… what if you fall for her? Do you know what will happen to you?"

"It's love… nothing scary… don't worry like that!" Izaya joked with him and let his hands flew in the air.

Shinra got up troubled by his friend. Izaya had told him before that he kissed the girl In her sleep in the past. They also shared lots of nights working on different jobs. They had many things in common and they were actually caring about each other even if they couldn't see it. Of course with the whole situation with Dragon, Cecilia's interest was because she wanted to find the ring. But even when she failed to find it she didn't go away from Izaya.

Now that he was thinking about it, Cecilia's side of things, he didn't knew it, so it was possible that after all this confusion she might even walk away. So having her walking away and Izaya after her for some kind of experiment was already fucked up. Both of them could actually get hurt from this.

"I advice you to stop that experiment of yours. How do you know that she will actually respond?" Shinra asked trying to put it logically to his friend's brain.

"I don't know. She may reacts she may not. And the fact that we had sex doesn't play any kind of role in all this, in case you ask."

"Wait… what? You had sex?"

"Yes."

"And? How was it." The perverted Shinra came to town.

"If I tell you that this was the root of my now experiment, how do you think that it was?"

"Oh… Wow…" That was a first. The all mighty Izaya actually has feelings for someone else. "Well… if you actually manage to make her fall for you and then threw her off like you are used to do… be ready for a huge storm towards you…"

Izaya just smiled at him ensuring him that he knew what he was doing so Shinra backed off. He decided that it wasn't his job to interfere anymore so he wished his friend good luck and took his leave for the front door this time. He walked down to the living room where Cecilia was sitting on the couch looking at the wall in front of her. She was at the same exact position she was when he entered the house.

"You… you have been looking at that wall the whole time?" he questioned her. When she listened to him she jolted up immediately. It seemed to Shinra that he took her from her thoughts quite brutally. He felt so bad for her.

"Oh you are right! I have to cook!" She rushed by him and started to look into the fridge for potential ingredients. Shinra followed her and gave her his report about the health of his patients.

"Alex is fine. His foot is in no danger anymore, so he will be able to walk perfectly again in a few weeks. Izaya woke up and that is a good sign. Also his wound doesn't seem to be infected so he will be able to heal soon too… um… are you listening?"

The girl was so into her cooking that she didn't listen a word. Shinra repeated his report and she just gave him a node. He gave up and left. Something that he realized was that in her mind the last thing that was, was love. Izaya would have so much trouble dealing with her. And at the end if he backs off, she would definitely kill him. With no mercy at all.

On his way out he fell on Shou who was coming back.

"Oh doctor. How are our patients."

"Oh, Shou-kun, right? They are doing fine. Cecilia-san is not from the other hand."

Shou just smirked.

"You say about her being too much into her cooking and ignoring the rest?"

"Yes. Did something happen?"

"Um… yes… you see yesterday Alex told her some awful things, and she took them too heavily. She is like that since dinner last night. She must be doing that to stop thinking about them."

"Them?"

"Alex told her that everything it was her fault. So I guess she feels guilty for everything that happened. I told her that it's not true. But as you saw, she didn't listen to me..." Shou looked at the sky disappointed. Shinra thanked him and left quickly. This was a matter that he couldn't put his hands on. It was not his business. Even though he would like to help.

Shou entered the house and noticed Cecilia cooking. He announced his arrival but she just waved at him. He shook his head and went directly to the basement where Alex was held. He had a few things to make sure before he leaves for Yogsai-City.

A few hours later he returned and sat at the table. Cecilia was still in the kitchen. She smiled at him and placed a dish with curry in it for him to eat. He thanked her and started to eat. Once done he promised that he would take food and to the rest of the residents of the house. Cecilia happier than ever prepared four more plates and gave them to Shou to take them to Alex and the twins, which he gave Izaya's too, as he didn't want to see him. Once done, he quickly went down, excused himself and left as he waved goodbye to Cecilia who was washing the dishes. His talk with Alex gave him enough info for him to think and calculate his later actions so he left as fast as he could so he could think and take some serious decisions. His brother would be a great help as he knew what was going on.

At the same time Cecilia had finished with the dishes but she noticed that she hadn't eaten yet. So she prepared a portion for herself and sat alone to eat. The food she made tasted bad in her mouth but she continued to eat it anyway. She knew that it wasn't the food the problem, but the taste in her mouth was changing everything she was eating lately. But she felt that she deserved it. That she had no right to complain so she continued to eat it forcing herself to accept it. She knew that she screwed up and tried to fix it but that wasn't enough. Her ignorance had as an outcome people to get hurt and people to die, like Shou's men. Something that she hated. She hated when innocent were losing their lives on matters they had nothing to do with in the first place.

"I should had just died back then… now everything would be better..." she said to herself and smiled bitterly. "How stupid can I be… really..." she continued until she finished her food. She pushed the plate away and looked around her. She was living away from that nightmare, she was living in a safe environment, she was doing a normal job to get money and she didn't have to go after criminals to make them pay for their crimes because police wasn't doing her job and she didn't have to run and hide from enemies. Her life was so much better now and she didn't want to change that.

"I am a horrible person. Other people are still there and here I am living a good life..."

She got up and took the dish to the sink. She looked out of the window and saw lot's of lights decorating the roofs, the balconies, the windows and the trees. It was Christmas after all… She just wanted to live again those memories she used to have from when she was a kid. But she guessed that she must have been a terrible person for all those things to happen one after the other.

"Hah… maybe I ask too much..." she said to herself.

Her eyes started to blur. She tried to handle herself as her legs started to tremble. Alex's words started to come to her head and haunt her. She wasn't able to sleep well last night cause of them. That awful feeling she had returned and overtook her easier than last time. She tried her very best to not let them bother her. She didn't want to worry anyone. She was old enough to gather her feelings and have them in order. That was what the Manipulator was doing.

"He is right… it's all my fault… I betrayed him… I betrayed his trust… I got them all involved… Izaya got hurt because of me… Shou lost his men because of me… it's my fault. It's my fault…" She kept repeating loudly so she could hear it or get it out of her system. She closed her eyes shut and dropped down to her knees.

"It's not my fault… I didn't know… I didn't know… I just wanted a better life… why… why I can't just have that?… AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH" She let a cry of agony and fell completely on the ground crying and repeating her monologue.

Izaya heard her cry and immediately got up, regretting his decision shortly. His wound was still open and hurt like hell, but her scream was not normal so he did his best to go to her. He got up slowly and stepped slowly towards the door. He met his sisters at the edge of the stairs and asked their help to get down. His sisters tried to calm him down, but he had decided that he had to start his plan. Do whatever he felt like doing. What he wanted to do was to find her right now, so he would just do that.

"Mairu… help me go down..." he asked his sister and she helped him get down slowly but painfully. He could feel his wound complaining and burning him but he didn't care. He wanted to go to her for some odd reason that he couldn't understand but he didn't give a damn. Once downstairs he scanned with agony the place until he spotted the siren on the floor behind the diner table. He moved slowly towards her and then dropped to his knees as well to face her. He could hear her sobbing and murmuring something but he couldn't make out what she was saying.

"Lia… it's ok..."

"No… it's my fault… but… but..." she told him and she held his hand. Her grip was strong but he didn't move it away. He held hers as well and looked at her red, from the tears, eyes. The blue of her eyes was washing out along with the tears.

"Lia. You are not at fault. It's ok… you did well..." he said softly to her as he cupped her cheek with his free hand.

"No… that is not true… you are hurt because of me..."

"No I am not..."

"Stop lying to me…. Because of me all these happened. If I had done my job… now everyone would be back to their homes, living a normal life..." she continued to cry letting her pain out for someone to hear it. She was feeling her heart being teared apart from her own actions. She became greedy. "I became greedy… I didn't deserve this kind of life…"

"Stop. You were not greedy. You wanted to be free and have a normal life. You said it yourself. If you didn't want that kind of life then you would have never left your city in the first place." Izaya felt the obligation to set her straight and stop her from hurting her self more. He hated seeing her like that and his heart was aching. It was a first but he said that he would go for it. He couldn't back down now.

To his surprise the girl in his arms stopped and stared at him.

"You believe that?" her eyes were seeking for an answer. An honest answer and Izaya could see that. Under other circumstances he would give a suitable answer just to make the person in question be depended on him and earn his trust, but now he couldn't bring himself to do something like that, at least not with an ill intention.

"I do. You did a great job. You protected my sisters, you came to fight Dragon and owned your mistakes. You fought and that shows that you are a fighter who won't just give up. And you also saved me..."

She flinched. "I did?"

"Yes..." He stared directly in her eyes with the most kind expression she had even seen and that made her relax and calm down a little. He believed in her and that made her feel warm. A peaceful smile appeared on her face making Izaya feel a skirt and his breath taken away.

"Thank you..." she whispered and she passed out falling towards Izaya. Izaya held her but his wound started to bleed.

"Iza-nii… you are bleeding..." Kururi said worried.

"Call Shinra..." Izaya smiled at her while stroking Cecilia's hair as she was sleeping peacefully in his embrace. Something he wouldn't exchange for anything in the world at the moment.

What he hadn't noticed was that all this time behind Mairu was standing Alex. When he heard Cecilia's scream he ran, hobbled as he was injured and he arrived rather late to the door of the basement but it was locked. He started to bang the door in hope that someone would hear and open it. His luck appeared as Kururi heard him and unlocked the door. The key was on the coffee table next to the door. So he watched everything. He watched what his words did to his old and only friend that ever supported him. His talk with Shou put him into thoughts and Cecilia's reaction to the whole story gave him more food for thought.

He didn't dare to approach the two on the floor but stood away and made himself invisible.

But the twins had other plans. They dragged him all the way to the girl on the floor and they made him carry her all the way to her room. Izaya stood still on the floor trying to control his bleeding while waiting for Shinra, who appeared in ten minutes later with Celty on his side.

Alex, still unable to walk normally, with the help of the girls managed to get the girl on her bedroom. He placed Cecilia carefully on her bed, turned around and walked towards the door. He stood there and looked back at her.

"Damn me… I am sorry Μanipulator… I knew that you wanted to get away from the city… it was only natural for you to act like that… I would do the same… I also never talked to you… I didn't trust you enough, yet you trusted me… I am sorry… I am an awful friend..." he said and walked again back to his basement to atone for his words.

By the time he closed the door behind him and went down the stairs to his prison, Shinra with Celty's help took Izaya back to his room, where Cecilia was laying.

"Maybe we should take you-"

"No… I will stay here… I will be fine… It seems like she needs someone..." Izaya said as he glued his eyes on her. Celty put him slowly next to the siren and they left after making sure that both of them were ok. Shinra promised to come again. At some point he thought that he should just stay there too.

Izaya didn't sleep immediately but stood up to watch the siren who was sleeping next to him and didn't seem to be enjoying her sleep. At some point she woke up and jolted up confused. Izaya tried to calm her down quickly before she starts crying again.

"Lia… Relax. You are safe now. You are fine. Come here." Izaya would call her until she finally listened to him and placed her head carefully on his chest. He placed his arm around her and tried to calm her down by answering to any of her questions after telling him what Alex told her. Her questions were similar to the ones at the kitchen.

"I feel so bad… I mean Alex was right! If I was to take that ring and give it back then everything would be ok! Right?"

"No. Because that ring belongs to my family. If you were to take it from me, then I would come after you. And I don't want that, and you don't want that either!" he said with fake anger as he poked her nose making her close her eyes as a reaction.

"Eh? Me? Why?"

"Because… I would be make your life miserable!"

"More than it already is?"

Izaya chuckled and kissed her forehead making her blush.

"Lia-chan~ You know that me and you are good together! And I plan on our good cooperation for the future! So don't make me go against you!" he smiled at her dangerously only to make her burst out laughing.

"Izy~ You are really funny!"

Izaya decided to ignore it just for that day because she wasn't thinking straight. Then all of a sudden, she grabbed his face and she brought his lips on hers, making them kiss. But she didn't only stop there, she deepened the kiss causing him to gasp for air soon enough.

"Thank you~ Izy~" she said and fell back to sleep leaving Izaya alone to calm his heartbeat. He tried to get some sleep as well as she seemed more peaceful in her sleep, with a small smile on her face, but the feeling of the kiss hadn't left his lips. He automatically brushed it off with his thumb but he regretted doing it immediately. He found it weird as they had kissed before, they even had sex before, but this kiss had an impact on him. In the past never a kiss moved him. Everything was just fake.

"This is interesting..." he smiled as he still thought that this was going according to his plan and that the next day he could tease her with that kiss. "I wonder what kind of expression she is going to give me!" he giggled and carefully calculate his next move.

* * *

 **That was the new chapter everyone! The next one may contain some new year flaffyness as the first round of enemies is coming to an end!**

 **See ya next chapter everyone! ^_^**

 **Please review your opinions! ^_^**


	10. Chapter 10 - Clear - Part 2

**HI EVERYONE!**

 **I am terribly sorry for being so late! I had exams and again health problems! Yay me!**

 **Let me thank you all for still being here and reading the story! It means a lot to me!**

Also, let me thank **_Polaraidbear_** for favoring my story! It means a lot to me!

Also, let me thank **_SkyeAmber_** and **_Yamidori_** for following my story! It means a lot to me!

And let me thank **_Xellopon_** for both favoring and following my story!

 **Unfortunately, the chapter won't have the first year fluffiness like I promised.**

 **I am terribly sorry. And I can't make any promises too for the future chapters. I have no idea how to continue XD So you will find out in the future chaps how it will go XD**

 **This chap contains explanations of the whole plan that took place in the previous chaps. For any kind of questions you are free to pm me ^_^**

* * *

 **Chapter 10**

 **Clear – Part 2**

 **December 28**

Cecilia was looking outside the windows at the decorated trees across the street. She felt nostalgic. She wanted to decorate a Christmas tree but Christmas was over so it would be weird to just go and decorate one all of a sudden. So she was left checking the trees outside feeling empty and sad at the same time. But this sadness compared to her surprise when she found herself in Izaya's arms some time ago, was nothing. She tried to remember what happened last night but all she remembered was her eating something with bad taste and then being angry and sad. She remembers having overwhelming feelings of guilt, sadness and hopelessness. Then everything becomes cloudy and her memory fails her. She only hoped that she didn't cause any problem. She kept finding herself in his bed always after a blackout. What was she exactly doing, she couldn't understand. First, she blacks out before being found by Shou. She waked up in Izaya's bed. Then they finished their mission, Dragon is dead, she started drinking with Shou and spoke about things, the next morning she woke up in the same bed with Izaya. The next night she slept on the couch and last night she remembers eating being sad and then she woke up again in the same bed with Izaya, again in his arms. Now she started to fear him misunderstanding her. Right now that was the last thing that she wanted to face. She knew that Izaya was living and breathing for things like that, they were so much alike.

"Cecilia-san?" a male voice brought her out of her thoughts. She looked around her in a state of shock until she noticed Shinra at the other side of the room, next to the stairs. "Cecilia-san? Are you ok?"

"Eh? I am fine. Thank you… How did you come in?"

"The door was unlocked…. You don't seem ok..."

"No, I just lately tend to have some memory losses and I keep doing things I shouldn't do…" she said concerned and turned around to face him. "So... what brings you here?"

"Oh, I came to check up on all of you. You all became very good patients to me." he chuckled but he was cut by Cecelia's confused look.

"All of us?" she asked worried.

"You don't remember? Last night you had a breakdown. I was called to take care of Izaya. Apparently, his wound reopened. Then Alex took you upstairs and we brought Izaya upstairs and we left you to sleep together. So… how are you feeling?"

Cecilia blinked and smiled warmly at the doctor. "Thank you for your concern doctor, now I am feeling better already."

Shinra smiled back but he could tell that she was still shaken. He made a wild guess that it was because she was still remembering those who drove her to her breakdown.

"Um… Cecilia-san. Who saddened you last night? According to the twins, you seemed really distressed." Shinra asked his patient kindly. Cecilia was taken aback by his concern as she wasn't used to such kind treatment, but at the end, she answered him.

"It might sound stupid, but they got into my head… Alex's words..." her voice because serious and deep. Mostly annoyed and irritated.

"You mean him blaming you for everything?"

"Yes… stupid huh?" her tone changed to a cheerful one. The perfect actress.

"Nope. You have been under tremendous pressure those days so it was only natural to be influenced by the words of someone who lived everything. Don't let them get you." he shined her a smile.

"No doctor… I plan on not being a victim to them anymore. When I woke up I felt all better and I could think more clearly. I realized that now, when everything is over, I don't own them nothing, so acting like a victim is not the right thing to do. The job is over. Time to move on. Now I only need to get them 'help' me stay hidden. Who is at fault and who is not, it's not my main priority now. What is done is done. Everyone showed their real color. Time to get my life together, ne?" she gave him a totally innocent smile, scaring Shinra to the core of his heart. The doctor just nodded and proceed to the basement as fast as he could. As he was walking towards it, Cecilia was quiet, and the moment he placed his hand on the door's knob, she stopped him.

"How is Izaya? You said that his wound opened again. Did I caused that?"

Shinra tensed up with her question. He had seen her smile a few seconds ago and now he was too scared to answer. What if she gets angry or what if she breaks down again? He chose his words carefully to avoid any unnecessary conflict with anyone in the house. He ensured her that Izaya was better and that he was just careless while moving around. Nothing more. Unfortunately, she didn't seem to be convinced but she didn't argue more. She just bowed and let him continue his way to where Alex was.

Shinra happened to like Cecilia. She was a kind person and she had also come from a very troublesome city, such as Yogsai-City. He knew the struggle of getting out of there and beginning new. Saya was like that. He and Celty helped her a lot in the past, so he could only pity the girl. She had been through so much, and blaming her was the last thing that should happen to her. She, like everyone else from that city, wanted a better life. But he was glad that she decided to not let what is happening take her down.

"Get my life together… huh?" he murmured while coming down the stairs to check Alex. The redhead was sitting on his bed and was looking at his hands when Shinra came down to check him. His leg was all bruised caused of the pressure he applied last night to get Cecilia to her bedroom but luckily it started to get better quickly because Alex applied ice in time, which he got from the freezer during the night.

"That was a smart move." Shinra complimented him as he was getting his things into his bag to go see Izaya next.

"I only do smart moves for my self… I am very good at doing the wrong ones to my friends." he said bitterly.

"Are you talking about Cecilia-san?"

"Yes. Did you speak to her? Is she ok?" the patient's eye's lightened up under the faint light of the lamp above them.

"Yes. She seems better. It seems that you were the one who caused her breakdown. Why so much hate?"

And then Alex spoke and explained everything to the doctor. The plan from the beginning until the end, what they had agreed on and the final results. The situation wasn't a win-win one and neither a lose-lose one. It was a win-lose combined. Shinra was not surprised by anything he heard. He had seen enough in the past and those were perfectly normal for Yogsai-City.

"So all those things happened huh? I am amazed that they kept you alive, but they need you at the end… But why? Why all this hate? Why did you betray your best friend like that? I hate Izaya, but he is my best friend and I would never betray him. So why you?"

Alex just smirked and stared at the lamp above them.

"I never thought that I did something wrong. I only realized that last night. You know why? Because I always thought that Manipulator was something like a god. She couldn't die, she could order anyone she wanted around without moving a finger. She was known to everyone. But when she was out of the game cause of an injury I panicked. So I searched for the help of others. I never thought that she would fail at her job. She was a pro, right? But what I didn't see that she was also human. She had needs. She wasn't a robot without feelings. Yes, she rarely cried, at least in front of me, yes, she was strong and ambitious and yes she never spoke about her problems with anyone, but I had to know her better." his voice was cracking and the more he was speaking giving the impression to the doctor that he had really wished to go back in time and change everything.

"People tend to do that because they believe that showing their weak side is a sign of weakness and by being weak they are being a weight to others. But that doesn't give you the right to blame them for things that wasn't their fault." Shinra said strictly and started to climb the stairs slowly leaving the prisoner in his own thoughts. "At least, what you told me, tell them to her too. She has to hear them, especially from you." and with that, he left the basement and proceed to go find his friend on the upper floor. While he was climbing the stairs he heard the door opening and Shou entering the house.

"That idiot didn't lock again." Shou murmured and closing the door behind him and he left immediately to the basement where Alex was. Shinra ignored him but found out that the rest of the house was empty. No twins and no Cecilia. When he arrived upstairs he fell on them. All three of them. They were all dressed up heavily, and ready to go fight to the cold outside.

"Oh, doctor! You are going to Izaya?"

"Yes."

"Nice! We will be going shopping. See ya!" the older girl waved at him and all three of them left the house as he was entering Izaya's bedroom.

The said raven was sitting on his bed bored but in deep thought of the last night's events. Shinra dragged him out of his thoughts and started to check his wound.

"This wound… I wonder when it is going to heal. Izaya you should be more careful!" the doctor scolded his patient.

"Soon Shinra. Don't worry about it." he said without giving him any attention. Shinra just let it pass and continued to clean his wound.

"I met Cecilia on my way up here. She left for shopping. What happened last night?"

"Nothing crazy. She bombed me with questions, then kissed me and fell back to sleep. Ah, that kiss… Shinra… she looked at me with that angelic smile, and I felt my heart skip a beat. And her lips were so soft. This kind of emotions, I never felt them before! She is the best for my experiment! I am such a lucky man!" Izaya sang. Shinra was dumbfounded. Cecilia was in a state of shock and she was trying to understand what she had to do after all this, and Izaya was in the ninth cloud, happy that his experiment is going fine. Unbelievable.

"Shinra! That girl is unpredictable! At one time she is totally fine and then she breaks-down. Later she is better again and she suddenly kisses you without a reason. Do you know what kind of emotions all those are causing me? Anxiety, fast heartbeats, lust, happiness, sadness. I stood awake to just stare at her. All these things are new to me. I am experiencing what I have been observing my whole life, Shinra. I need her Shinra. I need her in my life. This is the best gift I could ever have!" Izaya shouted letting a jaw-dropped Shinra. It was at that moment, that Shinra realized, that his friend was out of his mind. No… he had no empathy for anyone other than himself… no… he didn't feel about his own self, or else he wouldn't be like he was now.

"Izaya… Cecilia-san is in a very weird emotional situation, so you must be careful with her." he tried to at least not hurt her. His idiot friend was too much of an idiot to understand why he feels what he feels.

"Don't worry… I will do anything to make her feel better. The better I make her, the more she would come back to me. That way I will keep her near me for as long as I want. My years of experience will be one of my strong guides on this one!"

* * *

"Manipulator-"

"Don't call me like that here." Cecilia stopped Shou kindly as they were walking down the street to the center of Ikebukuro. Shou, after he heard from Alex about Cecilia's breakdown, he rushed to find her. He called her and asked to meet immediately. She agreed and sometime later they were walking down the main streets of Ikebukuro.

"Yes, I am sorry. Cecilia is now. I apologize. Um, I heard from Alex that you had a breakdown last night. I got really worried and that is why I asked you to meet up. Are you ok? Do you need anything?"

Cecilia just gave him a small smile and shook her head. "No, I am ok now. Thank you for your concern, but I don't have any memory of last night to be bothered right now. So I will be fine. I believe that I was looking for a way to get my frustration out of my system. That is all." she said with no worries. Her tone was cheerful. Shou smirked relieved that she was better. "And you? Why were you in the house?" Cecilia asked him next.

"I came to speak to Alex. I am thinking of leaving soon and he has lots of info about the actual state of Yogsai-City. Plus I wanted to know more about that Don."

"Oh, I see… so you are going back? Both of you?" she pushed him. She had to make sure that both of them would be gone.

"Eh? Yes… I don't know… I mean… I guess… I will because I have to pay my respects to the families of my men too. Don't know what Alex will do…"

"And then?"

"And then… then I don't really know. I would like to learn more about that Don and maybe go against him? He sounds like a fishy dude. I don't believe that he will make Yogsai-City like she used to be."

"I see..." she said and silence followed their conversation. It was a little awkward walking between people without saying anything. Shou was for some reason anxious around her. He was feeling uncomfortable. He thought that the reason was that they hadn't been spoken casually like this for a very long time, after their break-up. Only professionally. Nothing more nothing less. And that right now was just killing him. He hadn't seen her for so long. Ηe thought that she was dead for so long. When he learned that she was still alive, he was puzzled. He didn't know how to deal with it. Then when he saw he in front of him he got angry and him playing the villain justified his actions. When that dude, Izaya, protected her got even more angry. But he cooled down after what happened to his men and decided that he would be civilian and professional. But at the rest of their meetings, she was talking about Izaya. That made him realize that she had moved on and that there wasn't a place for him in her heart. So he felt jealous of him and he was lowkey hating him for making her care about him so much. And that is and the reason he refused to see him or have anything to do with him. But he had to be professional so he kept everything to himself. But Izaya got her first.

"Ne… Manipulator… I wanted you to know that I really got sad and when I heard about your death. And that I was really happy when I heard that you were still alive." he blurred out unsure of where this was going to go. He had only one chance and he took it. Cecilia only chuckled, as she found it ridiculous for him saying things like that, at that moment. She started to wonder where he was taking it. And if he was taking it where she was thinking he was, then it would get ugly.

"Yeah. Happy to get a job." she tried to make him stop.

"No. No. I… I really missed you. I really did. Our break up, I know, was ugly. It was really bad. I messed up and I acted like a complete idiot. And now I know it… I just had to lose you permanently to understand that." He didn't have anything to lose. He just wished that he could take her with him back or at least give their relationship one more chance. Cecilia, on the other hand, started to get irritated, but she had to hide it. She needed him to keep his mouth shut about her being alive. Plus her relationship with Shou was over, a long time ago, years ago actually. So him telling all those things, was useless. In all this commotion she never thought about their relationship. She faced him as a professional hitman. Nothing more, nothing less.

"And I just want to apologize for everything. If you could forgive me… and maybe give me a second chance… if you want..."

The girl didn't answer immediately. She was trying to get a decision. Should she start screaming at him or speak like a normal person. Now, she needed him, as he knew about her and he could also betray her any moment so she had to let him down slowly and make sure to not ever speak about it again.

"Shou. I appreciate your feelings, but me and you are over. Manipulator and Shou are over. Now I am Cecilia. Cecilia and Shou never existed as a couple but as to people who happen to have the same enemy and they worked together to finish him. That is all. That is how I see things now..." she smiled at him as kindly as she could and waited for his response. At the beginning, he looked pretty ok with it, but in seconds his aura got darker. The siren started to walk a few steps away from him to avoid any unnecessary body touch. But she knew that he was angry and that he didn't accept the rejection. So she braced herself for any incoming 'name'.

"Manipulator is dead right?"

"Yes, she is."

"And now, the one who is in love with Orihara Izaya, is Cecilia right?"

"I don't understand what are you talking about." she said confused. In love? What a joke!

"You are such a liar… you always were. Can't you just tell me that you love someone else instead of telling me lies like these?" He was laughing and he was hurt at the same time. Cecilia braced herself.

"Shou, are you on drugs?"

"No, I am still in love with you and you are playing with me. When I saw you I felt that spark that I used to have in me, but I was also angry. Angry because you never told me anything. And then I saw him protecting you, I lost it… And then you would be worried about him, and even share a recovery mode with him. You promised me that you would share your recovery modes only with me!" he grabbed her hand with force and dragged her towards him. "I endured it and endured it as you kept talking about him. And now you are telling me that your other persona is dead and you are not the one in love with him? Why are you lying to me again?" He grabbed her harder.

"Let me go, Shou! Get a hold of yourself! You are a professional hitman! This kind of act is unacceptable! And let go of me! It hurts!"

"I love you! I am telling you the truth! I said to myself that I should stay away from you so I didn't dare to come near while being here. I wouldn't even tell you all these…", he started at her and was faced with her horrified expression, "...but I got jealous when I heard that this bastard was there for you when you needed support…" he let go of her and his head dropped dramatically. She took her arms away from him and stood a couple of steps away from him. Her hand was in pain so she kept rubbing it to ease the pain.

"I lost my self there… arg… I am such an idiot..." he covered his head with his hands but Cecilia didn't react. She was used to this kind of acts from him. He didn't change at all, even after all those years. "I am sorry… it seems that it hit me where it hurt the most. I never cared about you like he did… of course you would fall for someone who would give you attention. You always did, after all."

'Here we go again.' the siren thought and rolled her eyes. His usual rant. He did it every time. He would just accuse her of not loving him enough because other were giving her more than he did, and his usual excuse? He can't give her more and that she was unsatisfied, ignorant and a bitch. But this time she wouldn't accept it.

"Shou. Manipulator is dead. Get over it. Manipulator is no longer here. Manipulator is someone who used to exist, used to love you, used to accept your lies and excuses. The only thing that connected us was Dragon. Dragon is dead. So Manipulator's jobs and career is over. Along with all the people that knows her. Including you. So stop your melodrama. It won't affect me anymore. It's over Shou!" she announced to him and she waited for his answer. She expected him to cry or scream or try to fight her. She was ready for everything but what happened wasn't what she expected. Laughter. Shou was laughing. He was actually laughing. She stood frozen in the middle of the street looking like an idiot at the man in front of her.

"Congratulations Manipulator!" he said in the middle of his laugh. "You passed!" he announced and opened his arms widely. The girl was lost. "Ah, I am sorry. Let me explain… Can you hear me?" Cecilia nodded shocked. "The truth is that I lied… what I just told you were all lies! I just wanted to check you! To see if you were ready to cut off completely with that city! And you did!"

He had a smile from ear to ear but the siren didn't. Although she understood why he acted liked that. His pride was hurt cause of the rejection, and when his blaming didn't work he took it as a joke to not lose face. How could she be with someone like him. Pathetic.

"You don't seem to believe me." he chuckled like a cute dog.

"…." Cecilia wanted to throw up but she tried to resist. She was close. "No… I will believe you one last time." she shattered and trembling from her anger. She hated him. Big time. She hoped he will end up dead in a dark alley or something.

"Hahaha... fair enough. I have to admit that I am a good actor. Hm… ok! Let me go this way. I am going to take Alex with me and we are going to go back to Yogsai-City and protect you from there. How does that sound?"

"Too good to be true, judging from what I have seen and been through the last days."

"Well, I believe that Alex will talk to you soon today. So my job is done for today! You can go home now! I won't see you again for a long time I guess… so I wish you a good life Manipulator. Goodbye!" he rushed and he left as fast as he could because he didn't want her to see his tears, which he was trying to hold back after his rejection. He knew he acted like a jerk but he had to make sure that he was 100% out of her mind… truth to told… he wanted to make sure that she was 100% out of his mind… but she wasn't. Even if her appearance changed, her character didn't.

"Damn you… Manipulator… Please forgive me… I promise I will forget about you..."

Cecilia from the other side was left dumbfounded and irritated. She wanted to kill him so badly.

"How dare you… Shou…" she murmured and started to walk around the city to find a high place to jump around. She needed to calm down before she goes home.

* * *

When Cecilia finally returned home she was faced with three angry faces. The twins' and Saya's. She had totally forgotten about them. They were out shopping, she even called Saya to join them. Then Shou called and she left them, but never came back.

She tried to apologize and offered to make them some food which they agreed on. The twins sat on the couches to watch some TV and Saya went to speak to Cecilia.

"Soo... what did you talk about? And how do you know him in the first place?"

"How did I know Shou? Well… it seems that you know that I am Manipulator… so telling you won't hurt me… Me and Shou used to be together."

"Eh? What? How? Why? When?" Saya had lost it. She never knew about it. When she met Manipulator back in Yogsai-City, she was single. And she never said anything about her knowing Shou. The Shou, the number one assassin.

"Unbelievable."

"You didn't have that info huh?" Cecilia chuckled.

"No, I-"

"Don't worry about it. You helped me enough, you and Boss. I bet that boss must have told you about me being Manipulator. And you kept it a secret too. So don't worry about it." she only smiled at her and focused again on her cooking. Saya knew that wasn't the case at all… but she chose to keep quiet for now.

"Is everything ok with Shou now? I mean is he going to help you? He seemed pretty helpful the other say."

"Well after acting like a complete asshole, he ended up promising that he will help me. So, I guess that he will. I really can't do anything about it to tell you the truth. So I will only hope. Aouch… fuck..." she cut her finger and it started to bleed so he put it under cold water and then in a bandage.

"Let me help you." Saya offered so they managed to finish lunch quickly. During their cooking, Cecilia snapped.

"Can you believe that he actually called me to tell me that he loves and me and that he wants us to be together again? Unbelievable! After all this time and all the things, he had done to me… that motherfucker!" She kept cooking angrily without noticing Saya's and the twins' faces staring at her. But Cecilia didn't continue so they went back to their jobs. When lunch was done, the four girls sat down to eat and as soon as they finished the twins ran to the couched to rest once again while watching TV. Saya stayed to wash the dishes and Cecilia decided to take some food to Izaya. She had to thank him for his help during her breakdown so she gathered all her courage and started to climb the stairs.

In the meantime, Saya heard someone hitting the door that was leading to the basement. She got up slowly and proceed to open the door. Alex was behind it and he was sweating.

"Can I use the bathroom? It's urgent!"

"Go on." she said as she walked to the side for him to come out. "At the end of the hallway." she pointed him the way and he vanished. She closed the door and waited for him to return. She was mad at him. She learned everything from the twins and she had murderous intentions. Once Alex returned she got ready to make him regret his very existence.

"I hope you are proud of yourself, Alex." she spat ironically to the boy. Alex stopped to face her and let his head drop with shame.

"No, I am not." he whispered.

Saya was caught by surprise. "And what do you plan on doing?"

"I am planning on apologizing to her. I must atone for my sins and I will do whatever it takes to protect her." He was honest, but Saya wasn't buying it. She knew that Cecilia and he had a long past but he betrayed her too easily. In Cecilia's place, she wouldn't trust him so easily with only a 'sorry'. Plus Manipulator was known for being zero sympathetic to traitors.

"You know that Manipulator won't be so sympathetic, right?" she asked him to cut off his wings of hope he probably had.

"I do. I am not expecting any forgiveness. Just a chance to help her."

"Aha..."

Alex bowed to her and walked past her. Saya followed him with her eyes at first, and when she saw that he wasn't going to the basement, he followed him with the rest of her body. She noticed that he was heading for the stairs.

"Where are you going?"

"To find Manipulator. I have to talk to her."

"No, you can't talk to her now. Go later."

"Why?"

"Because she is busy now." Saya hissed annoyed making Alex take a step back scared. "Until she comes back, sit down to eat!" she pointed at the table behind her.

* * *

"This was so good! Thank you Lia-chan~" Izaya exclaimed happily when he finished his lunch and put his empty tray on the night table next to him. "So? Why did you come to see me?" he asked next. It was unusual for her to come. She hadn't come to see him all his time, so she must be needing something.

"Oh… yeah. Wanted to thank you for last night. Shinra told me that you helped me and you stayed with me during the night. I really appreciate it. Plus I wanted to apologize for causing you so much trouble. If I had just done my job right now everything would be fine and you wouldn't be sitting here." she bowed to show her respect to him. Izaya looked at her confused.

"Shinra told you? You don't remember anything from last night?" Cecilia just shook her head. "That explains a lot." he said skeptical. "Last night you were shaken because you thought that you were responsible for everything. You lost control and you broke down. Later you kept asking questions and I kept answering them for you. But I am going to tell you again. You are not at fault. I don't find you responsible for anything that happened to me. If it wasn't for you then maybe, I would be dead. This injury is nothing compared to the ones I had last year. So stop blaming your self about what happened. Is over. Everyone is safe. Ok?"

He tried to be as kind as he could. It hurt him greatly seeing her sad and now on the verge of crying. Also, he needed to learn how to control his feelings too. He realized that his feelings were going according to Cecilia's moods. Cecilia just gave him an unsure smile as she was standing as far as from him as possible trying to hold her tears back.

"Come here." he called her by extending his arm towards her. "It's ok." he continued. She stared at his hand and then back at him. At the end, she listened to him and sat next to him. He brushed her tears away and moved her head so she could face him.

'It hurts...' he could only think. He wanted to see the angelic smile she had given him last night once again.

"Ah, that hurts!" He made a sudden move and caught his heart in an attempt to stop her from being in pain. He bent and was making weird voices. Cecilia tried to find a way to make him feel better in her panic.

"Izaya? Should I call Shinra? Are you in lots of pain? Can you wait until he comes here?"

She questioned in a rush and tried to leave to go call Shinra. But Izaya had other plans. He caught her hand and he pushed her gently on the bed. He climbed on top of her and started to tickle her. The siren didn't have time to understand what was going on but she burst out laughing uncontrollably. He was tickling her mainly at her tummy and her sides. She was responding quite satisfactory for Izaya's tastes. When she couldn't breath anymore from her laughter Izaya put an end to her misery. She tried to catch her breath and let her heart and lungs to rest.

"Feeling any better?" Izaya asked her as he was looking at her from above.

"I… thought I would die..." she cried and smacked his arm pouting. He only chuckled and kissed her forehead.

"At least you stopped feeling guilty for a while."

"I did… because I was thinking about my life here! But thank you… I really needed that…" she smiled at him with the same angelic smile she had last night and he felt his heart melt. He cupped her cheeks with his right hand and took her hair away from her face with his left hand.

"Lia..." he spoke seductively. He wanted her. He wanted to have her in his arms again. He wanted to feel her lips on his again. Last night's events just couldn't leave his mind. All those things that he had experienced until now were because of her. He had to keep her next to him, no matter what, and he would do anything. He looked at her hungrily from her sparkling blue eyes to her chubby lips, well-lined chin, long white neck, rich chest, slim waist when his eyes fell on her arm, which she extended to cup his own cheek and spotted black spots on them. He immediately felt anger and the urge to kill.

"Lia, who did this to you?" he asked angrily as he got hold if her arm as carefully as he could. She didn't have that marks on her last night. They looked like fingers, so he knew that it was human-made. Someone grabbed her hand with so much force that his fingertips were typed on her skin. He wanted to kill him. He didn't know why all this anger, but he didn't care. He felt like someone had hurt him too.

The siren beneath him looked at where Izaya was referring to. It was the hand Shou had grabbed earlier. It made a bruise. She never noticed.

'That motherfucker' she cursed and eyed Izaya who had a dark aura surrounding him. She didn't understand the reason for his sudden change of mood. Her being mad was normal as she had a relationship with him. Izaya why?

"I met with Shou, and he happened to get angry so he become a little aggressive. But he will do his job. Why?" she said and Izaya's blood started to bold. Shou. That dude who kicked her while she was unconscious and caused her those tremendous injuries. That dude who suddenly changed, he became a good guy and helped them fight against Dragon. That dude never stopped hurting her.

"That sorry excuse of a man, did this to you?" he snapped, ignoring her question and his stare became hard and cold.

"Yes he is. I couldn't put it better… But Izaya…Relax. I am fine. Don't get that angry!" she tried to calm him down. She really didn't give a fuck about Shou. He and Alex would be out of town soon so she won't be seeing them for a long time. No, she didn't want to see them again. She didn't even want to talk about them! She only cared about the people in her current time of life.

"Are you sure? Don't you want me to pay him a visit?" he asked one more time.

"Yes. They will leave soon, so don't bring them up right now. Alex caused me all this thing that I just can't get out of my head, and Shou told me some very creepy and crazy shit earlier… those two are better off…" she said and she lost her smile once again. "Can we stop talking about them? They managed to ruin my good mood now..." she complained and tried to get up. Izaya was still angry with Shou, but he decided it would be better to fix her mood than insisting to talk about those two. Right now his mind was telling him that this was the perfect chance to keep her close, and his heart to make her forget and make her feel better. And that is what he promised he will do. He pushed her gently back to the bed, took her hurt arm and brought it close to his mouth. He moved slowly her sleeve up to see her bruise better and gave it a light kiss. Cecilia watched him with a light shade of red on her cheeks.

"I am sorry for making you remember them. Will you forgive me?" he continued seductively. "I will make up for it... I promise… I will make you forget about them…" he continued with his low husky voice sending chills down her spine. He had to keep her close to him, he needed her… _so badly…_ When she wasn't responding, he continued with little butterfly kisses on her arm. "So?" he asked and his kissed were going higher. "Will you forgive me?" His kisses were now on her shoulder above her shirt. "Lia~" He kissed her cheek and stared into her eyes. He only needed her permission and he promised that he would make her forget everything about them.

He was only millimeters away from her face and he was waiting patiently for her response. Cecilia didn't want to remember anything about what happened, she didn't want to remember Alex's words or Shou's words. She only wanted to have her mind blank and stop thinking.

"You promise?"

"I promise."

One look and a nod from her gave the green light for him to lean over and taste her lips once more. He was hungry for more and at the same time he wanted to make sure that she was captive and totally depended on him. The first kiss was gentle and only a touch of their lips. Izaya didn't want to attack her immediately but tease her to make her beg for it. So the kisses were slow, climbing the stages to french kisses one step at a time. He kissed her lips, her nose, her forehead, her eyes, and her lips again repeatedly.

"What about your wound?"  
"Don't mind. I will take responsibility for it. You just enjoy it."

She chuckled between their kisses and he smiled with her as he went back to business. He found his way to her neck and proceed to lick her vertically upwards, causing her to giggle.

"You like it?"

"It's ticklish." she gave up and started to laugh when he licked her one last time. "I am sorry..." she apologized and he smiled at her. He liked her laugh, it was addictive. His heart was pounding happily seeing her smile again. He cupped her cheek and kissed her one more time. But this time he went all out and licked his way inside her mouth. She let him enter her mouth gladly and enjoyed his every movement and lick. The kiss was wet and sloppy. Cecilia wrapped her arms around his neck and brought him closer making the kiss deeper and louder. They would part occasionally to breath but they would return to their kiss once again.

Izaya's hands traveled down her sides to her tights and tried to position himself between her legs. Once he successfully replaced himself, he started to rub her tights as she wrapped them around him. She found her way to his pajamas and tried to unbutton his top. Izaya followed her example and broke the kiss to unbutton her shirt, only to face her black bra.

"Black suits you so well."

"Thank you."

He stood unmoved to admire her body from above. He couldn't have enough of it.

"You stare again." she complained and got up to hug him.

"You are marvelous. Let me enjoy you some more." he whispered into her ear as he made her sit on his lap and they both took off each other's shirts. He hugged her and tried to undone her bra. He succeeded and helped her take it off.

"I wonder how many bras did you take off in your life to be that quick." she teased him and bite his ear playfully making him moan.

"A lot… is that a problem?"

"Nope." she gave him a peck on his cheek and started at his reddish eyes.

Then the door opened and Alex entered with Saya running after him.

"I told you to wait damn it!"

"I waited enough! Manipulator I came to-" The poor redhead didn't manage to finish his sentence and he was showered with cold sweat. Cecilia covered her boobs by hugging Izaya, basically squeezing them on him and Alex covered his eyes in a desperate attempt to not be rude.

"Didn't you learn how to knock doors before entering?" Manipulator hissed at her ex-best friend.

"I am sorry but didn't you learn to not return favors using sex?" he snapped back more embarrassed with her actions, than the fact that he saw her naked. Well, half naked.

"She is not giving me sex in return for anything, I am just trying to relieve her from the stress you and your friends caused her. Is that a problem?" Izaya asked ironically to irritate Alex. The redhead uncovered his eyes and looked at Izaya who was helping Cecilia put back her clothes.

"So what do you want?" Cecilia asked coldly and completely turned off by Alex's accusations. Were they really friends in the past? How?

"I want to talk to you."

"In my office." she answered irritated. All she wanted was to relax for some time and then go again in attack. Lady luck wasn't with her. But she also wanted to get over with it, so she agreed on speaking with him.

On their way out Saya had to comment.

"With Izaya? Again? Are you for real?"

"Shut up!" Cecilia hissed and closed the door behind her. Now Izaya and Saya were together behind the office's closed door trying to hear what they were saying inside.

* * *

"So… what do you want?" Cecilia asked first.

"I want to apologize for my actions and sayings. What happened to you yesterday was clearly my fault."

"What you said was the truth." the girl simply stated.

Alex sighed and buried his head between his legs.

"The last two days I was talking with Shou about the whole mission and what was my thesis in it. You know that I was working for Dragon for years. Then you got 'eliminated' and I panicked. I followed Don and when he learned that I was Dragon's right hand he asked me to help him take him down. I accepted immediately. As a reward, I would take Dragon's place in controlling the city. Dumb. I realized that. Shou and all the things that happened helped me realize that. I never liked hurting people, you know it after all. So my plan was to send you away from that city with the help of Dragon, you would take the ring from Orihara, send it back, I would kill Dragon that way and with the power of the ring I would rule the city and protect her. But everything failed and now I know why.

"I never thought that you would fail a mission. No. I was sure that you would do the mission. So when we first met and saw your ignorance I lost it somehow. You were rude and cold. But I was in the wrong. I was the one who didn't understand you and I was the one who thought that you were lying. So I told to Shou that you were lying, even when I knew that I wasn't doing the right thing.

And now I realized that if I had just spoken to you before you left the city, now nothing from all these would have happened. You didn't know as I didn't know what would happen once I started the plan. I was oblivious and blinded by a fake promise. I know that if I had spoken to you sooner then you would agree with helping me. That was the bigger error from my side." Alex stopped and smirked to himself. He felt like a huge idiot. No… he was a huge idiot.

"Would you mind telling me now the truth and what steps you took. I need to know who knows and what about me." Cecilia asked a little after Alex's story. She really didn't care about his melodrama. Only about facts and her safety. She had enough with their ups and downs.

Alex nodded.

"After you left I was just waiting. But then Don started to push, so I pushed Dragon too. Dragon got paranoid because he was losing men and power every day and he asked me to find a professional hitter to find you and kill you if you failed your mission. So I found Shou who had a relationship with you in the past. I know that it was a dark time then, but I bet on that. I told him about the plan from the beginning. How you were unable to work, how Dragon helped you stage your death, about your change of appearance by giving him a photo of you, the new plan of simply finding you. He was cool with it. Then, when we arrived, Dragon booked the whole hotel for him and his men. I came to find you and then because I was angry with you I said to Shou that you were lying. Then they found Orihara and you and brought you to the Blue Squares hideout. I believed that everything would be over. They would take the ring from Orihara, throw you out and end of story. But apparently, Dragon had other plans. Dragon wanted everyone that had to do with the ring dead. So he ordered the killing of his men, along with Shou's men. I found it weird as he had only a few men to protect him, to begin with, and Shou's men were neutral and were just doing their job. They had no place in the whole plan after all. And that is why I saved Shou and anyone who could be saved. Shou's brother found us and he took care of us. I returned to Dragon but he knew that Shou and you were still alive. Then It was when I realized that I had to act, so I decided to have you and Shou and Orihara in the game to take out Dragon. I was so close but Don contacted me and asked me to hurry. That is why everything happened so fast. I learned from Aoba that the ring was held by the twins so I made him suggest them that it would be better for them to give the ring to you. That way they would be out of danger. They gave it to Orihara and I was ready to go. But Dragon had ordered the death of the twins and you too and I learned it just before I found Orihara. The only thing I could do was to tell him and have him act, which he did. You were safe and the twins too. About Shou, I was the one who asked to burn the house, as an attempt to inform him that things got worse. But when I finally got the ring in my hands, when I was in front of Dragon I realized that I was so close to my dream. I lost it. I killed Dragon, I injured Orihara and I waited for you and Shou to come at me. I had everything ready but then it was when nothing worked. I could use your powers to get the ring stronger but I failed. So I hated you. I started to blame you for everything. I lied and hurt you. I am sorry. But please don't forgive me. I don't deserve your forgiveness. Power made me a person that I never wanted to be. I became a monster, I killed people and I betrayed my only friend."

His speech was indeed moving but Cecilia didn't feel sorry for him. She couldn't feel sorry for him. It turned out it was his fault, to begin with, and she stood at that side of the story. He was at fault, not her. She was fine and he didn't hate him either. She was acknowledging the facts. Nothing more. What mattered more to her was her safety.

"Manipulator." Alex was heard again making her turn her attention back to him. "I will go back and I will hide everything. I will continue with the plan because I know that if I back down now they will find it suspicious. I will fight from the inside and I will protect you and the city… so I will do whatever you tell me."

The manipulator continued to stay silent but took his words into consideration. She sat a little better in her chair. "How do I know that you won't betray me, again." putting emphasis on her last word to make it clear to Alex that she won't accept something like that again.

"That is a difficult thing. I know. But as a guarantee, you have the lives of my family. And I will go back with Shou. He is a trustworthy person, isn't he?"

"I don't know. It depends on his job and his mood. He can easily go against me anytime. The more people know that I am alive, the bigger the danger. My problem, of course, would be done with if I could order you both to forget about you seeing me, or knowing that I am alive, but right now I can't… I am still recovering."

"I-I see..."

Silence once again.

"Shou told me that he will take you tomorrow morning with him. I advice you to go and call him."

"That is good news. But he was angry with the whole situation. I hope that he still thinks the same."

"He told me so." she added.

"I see… so I will get going now… I guess?" he got up and walked towards the door, but he stopped before opening. "Manipulator… we have been friends for years. We have been through some tough situations together and I appreciate that you are still allowing me to stay in your house and keeping me alive after the things I made you go through. Basically, I am the one who ruined the calmness of your now life. I was a horrible friend and I deserve everything that will happen to me from now on. But I would like to keep in touch and give you info about the city's issues. Of course, if you are interested. My phone number is this one.", he came back to the desk, wrote a number on a piece of paper and handed it to her, "The line is made like that so there is no way someone to know your location. So if you ever want to learn anything… just give me a call..." he smiled sadly at her and proceed to leave the room. Cecilia who was silent the whole time stopped him. She had to make sure that he was on her side, no matter what.

"Alex. I do appreciate what you did for me until now. I will forgive you for what you did to me, but no for what you did to the rest who got involved in this without a reason. You found me a way to get out and kept quiet about me." 'I should have expected that something was fishy. It was too good to be true after all.' "And at the end, you took care of Dragon, which needed guts. Thank you for that. I will give you one more chance… and I will keep in touch just to know if anyone else comes to find me. But! I don't want to you or Shou here, in this city, ever again! Keep that in mind." She smiled a little and Alex bowed with tears in his eyes and then left the room leaving Cecilia alone in the study.

On his way to the stairs, he fell on Izaya and Saya who barely managed to step away from the door before opening.

"Orihara-san."

"Alex."

"Saya-san"

"Alex."

"I will be taking my leave tomorrow. It was good meeting you and I am terribly sorry for everything. We won't ever see each other again. Saya-san, would you mind helping me contact Shou?"

"Yes. This way..." she showed the way down to the phone leaving alone Izaya. Izaya didn't lose time and entered the study himself. Cecilia was still sitting in her chair behind her desk and her head was buried in her hands. Alex's phone number was already in one of the drawers.

"How are you feeling?"

"Tired… and really unconcerned of what I heard. Huh… I have to admit that I am a very good actress. I even thanked him for doing what he was supposed to do! I did so many things for him and he had only one job. But I need him. He will be inside all this chaos and I will know when I will be in danger. But what he did to me and how he made me act… I won't ever forget it… I forgive, but I never forget…." she stopped talking and pressed her temples to calm her down. "At least they are leaving… So everything will be over soon..."

She was cold, heartless and indeed an actress. He heard her thanking Alex, and her tone was warm and forgiving. But he didn't expect her to have this change of attitude so fast. Now he was interested in her more than before. Now he wanted to know more about her and her past. He wanted to know why she was so cold, what makes her act cold and what makes her act like a caring friend. He wanted to know everything.

"Izaya… Let me be clear about this. The only guilt I feel about this whole commotion is about the problems I caused to you and your sisters. Your one sister killed two men that night, you know."

"She did what?" Izaya blinked surprised.

"She killed the two men who went to get her and her sister. Mairu did it. Do you know about those men?"

"Yes… I asked Shinra to go and find you and them when Alex told me that you were in danger."

"You did? Thank you… Well… we covered it up and we told to your sister, Mairu, that she didn't kill them and we will keep it like this. I think that you should know..." Her expression had softened up and now she was kind.

"I see..." Izaya noticed her change of attitude again. I was so natural. He loved it.

"Once they are gone, I will tell you everything that you need to know. From then and on, you will decide what we are going to do."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that the whole meeting between us was because of the ring, which I have to return it to you, and Dragon. We got the ring back and Dragon is dead. So my job is over. Now you have to think if you want to still stay in contact with me or not. No hard feelings involved of course and it will be like we never met if we stop any kind of contact."

"I think that you are in a rush. Why?"  
"Because I believe that things from now and on will be worse. That is what I got from Alex's speech and my talk with Shou. They can't be trusted… not anymore. So I can't guarantee the safety of anyone involved with me. But once you know more, you will understand."

"I see… then I will be waiting for you."

* * *

 **December 29**

It was past midnight and Alex was awake. He couldn't sleep. He was anxious about the trip back to Yogsai-City. He and Shou managed to find a mutual understanding of their future goals and works so they could continue with the trip. Now he was sitting on a bench in the garden of the house inside the snow with a packet of cigarets in one hand and a lighter in the other. He was clothed well and waiting patiently for time to pass. Luckily for him, Cecilia left the key to the basement's door for him so he could leave whenever he wanted to. He was watching the smoke of his cigarets travel towards the sky like he was magnetized by it when he noticed a figure on the balcony. He looked better and he realized that the figure belonged to a male. The only male on the second floor could only be Izaya. So he got up and called him. Izaya turned towards him and waved. Then Alex asked him to come down. Izaya agreed and a few minutes later he was sitting along with Alex on the same bench.

"So? What did you want to talk to me about?"

Alex stared at the white sky above them and took one more smoke before speaking.

"You heard everything, huh?"

Izaya understood that he was talking about his conversation with Cecilia. "Yes."

"I see… Then you know that I wasn't the one responsible for your sisters..."

"Yes. But I don't really care." Izaya said and looked at the white sky too. Alex didn't find surprising at all. After all, he had the same attitude and when they met.

"You are so different from what I imagined you would be. Hell, the whole situation is different from the one I imagined it would be. Ironic huh?" he chuckled at his own comments and continued. "I want to make sure that Manipulator is in good hands. Are your hands good enough to keep her safe?" he asked, impressing Izaya. The raven shook his head after surpassing his shock and stared at him hard.

"I really don't want to hear that from you. You were her best friend and you betrayed her like that. I don't even know her that well and yet I protected her better than you or her ex, Shou. So I don't see how this is making you capable of asking me such a thing. I find it ironic that you still care about her. You and your friend Shou are despicable. Both of you claim that you care about her yet you cause her to break-down and hurt her physically and emotionally."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that your friend Shou, expect from the fact of him hitting her while being unconscious and helpless, breaking countless bones in her body, he bruised her arms today. And you caused her breakdown after betraying her. Is that how you care about her? You fought together for fuck's sake against Dragon, she let you stay in her house, she fed you and you are treating her like that? Unbelievable!"

A hideous expression appeared on Alex's face. He was visibly upset and disgusted. He immediately tried to apologize and make Izaya change his opinion for him.

A small evil smile haunted Izaya's face. He only said that he would be all heart out with Lia, not with the rest of her friends. He didn't care about them. To him, they were all humans ready to be manipulated.

Alex was dumbfounded, but he knew very well how right Izaya was. So he didn't deny anything and didn't give excuses.

"You are right, and whatever I say, won't change the past. But Shou used to love Cecilia… why would he go that far?" he questioned him. Izaya's aura darkened as invertible anger started to take over him. He was furious. "He loved her? What a joke. This is not how you love someone." he groaned. Izaya had a strong belief in what real love was and he believed that himself would never be able to love someone truly. So he chose to love humanity instead. His father was his role model of what real love was. His father would never act towards his mother like Shou did to Cecilia. He knew that this wasn't love. It was hurt pride. And now everything could be explained. Now he knew why Shou, even if he tried to kill Cecilia, he had that sudden change of heart and decided to ask the help of his enemy even if he could do it himself without having her involved.

"He did everything on purpose. He didn't love her. He was just jealous and was afraid of losing her." Izaya continued in a dark and husky voice. Alex flinched. "I found it weird when Lia told me that Shou wanted to help her kill Dragon when you all could kill him on your own. He did it on purpose. He wanted to show her that he cared for her. He got jealous. He knew that he couldn't have her… ts, and he calls himself a man? If he truly loved her then he wouldn't allow her involvement in the first place. "

Izaya barked back irritated to the bone. He turned to Alex and glared at him. "I don't care what is your relationship with Lia, but you better stay the fuck away from her from now and on. You and Shou. She may have forgiven you, but she is not an idiot." he hissed and got up to leave.

"Wait!"

"What?"

"Before you go, I want to know something..."

"Say it."

"I want to know why the ring never worked."

"Because that ring is a ring of love. For it to work, you need the power of love. Something that none of us have. So it was useless from the beginning."

"Then why did you-?"

"Because is a family memento and it's fun playing with humans! Good night. Hope to never see each other..."

And with those last words, Izaya left him alone and proceed towards the house. His mind was full of angry thoughts and good memories. He was remembering his parents and how happy they were. His father was a fine example of a man who loved and respected his wife. He was always admiring him when he was a kid. He thought of him as the perfect role model. He would never hit a woman, he was always be kind to everyone. He loved his son without caring about his weird hobby of watching people and noting their hobbies and tastes. Too bad he didn't take after him. At the end, he became nothing like his father.

He crawled under the sheets and took Cecilia in his arms, noticing that she immediately reacted to his touch. He smiled at himself and closed his eyes trying to forget about his father. That resulted in bringing Cecilia closer to him and wanting to stay like this for the rest of the night.

* * *

Cecilia had woken up early on her own and instead of getting up she stared at the sleeping raven next to her. She had a warm smile on her face as she was watching him breathe slowly and looking so innocent. A little tired though. He had his arms around her protectively making her feel secure, something she needed to feel these days.

She was thankful for having him near her and him not betraying her at the end too.

Then it was when she heard a soft knock on her door. She got up and quickly opened the door, trying to not wake up the sleeping raven. It was Alex. She left with him, closing the door behind her and she followed him all the way down to the kitchen.

"So, you are leaving?"

"Yes. I have everything done. I will go to Shou's brother to find Shou and leave." Alex gave her a thumbs up. She went with him until the door of the house when he stopped.

"Manipulator? May I ask you a question?" he asked her all of a sudden.

"Yes."

"Do you love Yogsai-City?"

"Hm… I would say yes. That city was like a dream that became a nightmare. So I stayed there hoping that the nightmare would go away. And I fought for that. But once they beat me, I was unable to continue fighting so I decided that it was time for me to go. Of course, if there is hope once again I will gladly fight for that dream to come back… but why are you asking me? Do you plan on-?"

"No… nothing like that… I am officially over with things like that… hahaha..." he smiled and he hugged her tightly. "I hope that one day we will be friends again… and please be safe… me and Shou will take care of everything… Izaya will also take care of you here… so this is farewell..." he let go of her, "...live your life Manipulator! And good luck with Orihara-san!" he waved at her while winking nastily and left the house.

She followed him all the way to the street with an awkward smile on her face. She waited until she couldn't see him on the street anymore and returned to the house. She closed the door behind her and took a deep breath.

"I have a bad feeling that this isn't going to end well..."

* * *

 **And that was the end of the first arc… somehow… I mean it will be officially over next chapter, which will contain and the start of the next one with the explanations needed for Cecilia's past. Well, at least most of them. :P**

 **The chap ended up bigger than I thought, but I really didn't want to make into two chapters…**

 **I just wanted to end this arc. XD**

 **Thank you for reading the story!**

 **Thank you for still supporting me!**

 **And I would like your opinion on the length of the chaps… are they too big? Do they have too much info?**

 **See ya next chapter!**


	11. Chapter 11 - The Beginning of Calmness

**ATTENTION: This is the new Chapter! I just forgot to delete the previous Note before I update the new chapter! I deleted after I updated the new chap so it got messy! So I deleted both chaps and I re-uploaded the new chap, this one! ^_^**

* * *

 **Hello Everyone! Welcome back!**

 **Thank you very much for your patience!**

 **I hope that you are doing fine!**

Well, let me thank **abbydobbie** for favoring my story! It means a lot to me! **^_^**

 **And thank you for your wonderful reviews! And I heard your requests so I will add fluff to this and the next chapter for ya to enjoy!**

 **But don't expect hardcore stuff XD**

 **Please Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 11**

 **The Beginning of Calmness**

 **December 29**

Cecilia decided to not sleep the rest of the few hours left for the morning to officially start. Not until she knew that those two were out of Tokyo and the hell back to Yogsai-City. What a mess was all this case. They came and made a huge mess. They destroyed her peaceful life. She wished to never see them again. They could just stay in that city and rote along with all the idiots who liked that situation. She knew that unless the citizens there 'wake up' and start to want democracy the city wouldn't change. She remembered that dude Don who Alex talked about. He said that he started to preach about the city and how he wanted to take down the rulers. That kid was dreaming big. Dragon was the weakest of them all. There is no way he will succeed in taking down the rest of them.

"Nuh… There is no way… But it's not my business anymore..." she whistled throwing her head back to lay on the roof tiles of her house. It was freezing cold but she needed that cold to clear her head and bring herself back into the game. She had to think and put things in a line. Now that Dragon was out and all her business with Yogsai-City were basically closed, she had free time to start again and do things right this time. Starting with the man who was sleeping in her bed, right below her.

What was she going to do with him? Their relationship got out of hand the last days. Did they become from co-workers to lovers? Was that even possible between those two? What are they? No, the more proper question was, 'what she was doing'.

"That case really messed up more than one things…" She sighed heavily. Before she thought about Izaya she had to think about her first.

Those days she was totally out of character. She got emotional during her work. That was a huge 'no' for her. It was unacceptable. Well, thank god Izaya was there to bring her back to reality.

"That human lover did help me a lot. Now I should pay him back for that kind act of his, but..." He saved her ass before when he took her to his apartment. Then she saved his ass when she took him to his apartment, and now this. He did help her psychologically though. "… I will take it as a good gesture from a friend and won't bring it up at all. I thanked him already… right?" she giggled to her self. He was good for situations like this and he was really helpful with her recovery mode, so she had to keep him close.

She got up and let her eyes wonder at the scenery. It was one of the most beautiful things she had ever seen until then. The red sun was licking the top of the buildings of Tokyo little by little giving the image of an orange sea. It was warming her heart and soul. How she wished her life would be as calm as that very moment. That would be heaven! Her life was heaven from the moment she set her foot in Ikebukuro. She found a job, she met new people, she made friends, she has her own house, on rent but still. She also knows her enemies, compared to Yogsai-City where she couldn't even trust her shadow.

But hours passed quickly and when the sun was up she decided to get down and contact Kotarou. She was absent for a few days from her job and now she may even be unemployed. She got at her bedroom's balcony and entered. Izaya was up and was reading something on his phone. He saw her enter from the balcony confused.

"Where were you?"

"At the roof?" She answered like it was the most natural thing in the world. Izaya should have seen this coming considering that fact that she liked heights. He didn't say anything about it but jumped to the next theme.

"Ne! Police just made an announcement about the destruction of the hotel where Dragon was staying. They say that they can't find the cause of the explosion but there is a high possibility that the tanks of gas in the basement may cause that explosion. What you think?"

"Either they are too stupid either there is a cover-up. What else do they say?"

" That none of the workers of the hotel were killed. How you will ask. Dragon apparently asked for all the workers to not bother to go and work at the hotel during his stay according to the owner of the hotel. He only left one worker at the reception."

"This is a normal thing to do. No one will bother them or will leak information outside and they also had one of the workers as a cover to the rest of the world." Cecilia said concerned.

"But she ended up alive and her statements are weird. According to her statement, she was there the whole time yet she didn't see anyone enter or leave the hotel. Then she got a call from the owner of her apartment informing her about an emergency at her apartment and by the time she came back to the hotel and the stores around it were all destroyed and burning. I find it weird."

"Why?" The girl asked with a faint smile.

"Because that worker saw me and Alex with his men entering the hotel. He even waved at her and she greeted us with a smile. Of course, she had no idea what was going on. And I bet that she also saw you and Shou. She just left a little after you arrived according to the times they give here. How could she just not remember?"

"Because I ordered her to." Cecilia answered and stuck her tongue out playfully. Izaya gave her a silent "oh" and she continued. "That is why my throat was hurting and I couldn't scream afterward. An order is straining my voice and I need a couple of days or even weeks to recover to give an order again. At some point I needed months. Now I am getting better, thank you for asking." she winked at him and proceed to exit the room. "The best thing we can do is to play it off and act like we have no idea about the whole situation. We must not give any evidence that we know anything about it. We are already enough exposed. And I know that they know that Dragon is dead. So there is a possibility of them coming for us..."

"Them?"

"Yes… What if they want revenge and Alex give us away?" She laughed and left the room letting Izaya dumbfounded but amused with her reactions. Again, this girl was the something else. Zero concerned about herself, yet she was worried sick about his and his sisters' lives. How could she be so careless?

"This is something rare coming from a human… now I wonder… Was I missing that much by ignoring monsters?"

* * *

"Yes? Kotarou? Yes…I am fine. I would like to ask about my current... position? Did he fire me?…. No? Why?…. You did? Oh my god, why? … Kotarou man, you are a real friend, I owe ya buddy! …. Yeah! Tomorrow I will be back! …. Thank you, man! See ya! Kisses to your family!"

Cecilia hanged up and threw herself on the couch. Her boss didn't fire her because Kotarou said that she was sick and that she took her sick days off. Luckily for her today was the last day and tomorrow she had to be back. She had to do something for Kotarou. He saved her ass big time! It wouldn't be pretty first thing to do during the new year to look for a new job.

"Maybe I should invite him and his family to dinner?" She wondered when she heard footsteps coming down the stairs and two younger girls appeared smiling before her.

"Good Morning!"

"Good Morning..."

The twins had woken up and came down for breakfast energized as ever. They were both ready for the new day and nothing would stop them from having fun. Cecilia felt really envious all of a sudden. More likely nostalgia rather jealously.

"Good morning girls! How was your sleep?"

"It was cool! Amazing! Sleeping in the same room as Kururi-nessan is amazing! Yay!" Mairu answered with a blast while kicking the air enthusiastically.

"How was your sleep?" Kururi asked Cecilia next.

"Half." Cecilia stuck her tongue out and walked to the kitchen to prepare them breakfast. The girls sat on the table and chatted when the conversation arrived at their brother.

"Brother Izaya is such a clumsy guy! He managed to get stubbed! How lame!" Mairu exclaimed and Kururi followed with "I think that they caught him off guard."

"I don't know girls." Cecilia answered to them.

"Huh? He hasn't told you what happened? But you two spend so much time in your bedroom!" Mairu's words were straight to the point. She was a slickly girl alright. Her words, just like her brother's, were like rocks.

Cecilia chuckled. "Oh, you sleepwalking now?"

"No, Mairu likes peeping on people." Kururi gave her sister away with no feelings. Mairu made a fake crying noise and hide her face embarrassed in her arms.

"Hahahaha I see. You really are your brother's siblings." Cecilia didn't really mind them. They were both adorable in their own way. She wouldn't expect anything less from the Orihara siblings, to be honest, so she wasn't surprised at all.

She ignored the rest of the conversation and continued cooking when Izaya came down and sat at the table with his sisters. The girls started to tease him non stop for his injuries and he just politely asked them to go home.

"Just go home already." he sighed defeated.

"And you, brother? What are you going to do?" Mairu gave him some nasty looks switching between him and Cecilia.

"He is going back to his house too because I have work tomorrow," Cecilia answered bluntly and placed four dishes, a plate with pancakes and crepes, along with honey, melted chocolate, syrup and shuttered biscuits, on the table. The three siblings stared amazed at the food on the table.

"Where did you find all those ingredients?" Izaya asked shocked. Last time he checked everyone was a huge mess to go shop for ingredients. Hell Cecilia was missing from her house most of the time, to his!

"I had storage some chocolate, biscuits. Now flour, eggs, milk, and butter are some things that every house should have at home… Plus I had gone shopping with the girls and Saya. Oh! You were upstairs, that is why you didn't know what we were doing."

The girl gave him a sympathetic look, following two sympathetic yet mocking expressions from his sisters. He pouted and looked elsewhere. The girls laughed and everyone started to eat in peace for the first time in days, which were like centuries for the siren.

She had to admit that this breakfast was one of the things that she wished could repeat again and again for the rest of her life. It was calm, happy, funny, with the warmth of a family. It made her remember when she was having breakfast with her family before school and how she would fight with her older siblings over food. Good times. She wouldn't change them for anything.

"Ne nee-san! What are you going to do during the change of the year?" Mairu snapped her out of her thoughts al of a sudden. Startled she managed to give an answer.

"Eh? Nothing? I really don't know. What about you?"

"We are going to go and see the fireworks at the docks of Tokyo! They say that this year they will be extra special!"

"Why?"

"Apparently the daughter of one of the members of Japan's high-class citizens is getting married during the change of year. So they will make the new year's celebration part of their wedding reception after the wedding." Izaya filled in with information.

"Oh, ~~ That sounds so romantic but also expensive. But he is a high class, so he is rich as hell. Why feel sorry for him?" Cecilia giggled along with Mairu.

"Fireworks are pretty." Kururi said in her monotone.

"They are indeed." Cecilia said dreamy and smiled warmly at the twins. Izaya caught that and decided to keep it in mind, just for future references.

* * *

Cecilia and Izaya were sitting outside the twin's complex looking at their window. They had just dropped them off. Cecilia offered them to change apartment cause of the events that occurred there but they declined her offer. Nevertheless, to make her feel better they said that if they start to feel too uncomfortable they will change apartment. Izaya was also in agreement to pay for anything his younger sisters would decide, yet she didn't want to let them live in that apartment.

"They are not going to change their mind even if we stay here for another five hours." Izaya whistled tired and turned around to leave. Cecilia knew that he was right but she still couldn't shake it off. It wasn't right for two kids to stay in the same place where a murder had occurred. Especially a murder they committed unaware of the situation they were in.

"You know that I am the one responsible for all this." She said with a hurt tone as she started to follow him. "I have to protect them somehow..."

"It was Alex's fault for bringing my family into all this mess. And it was Dragon's fault for suggesting such thing. You have nothing to care about."

"If I had just done my job right-"

"You did the best thing you could do. That ring means so much to us. It's one of the few things our parents left us. So be grateful that you never took it from us. It would be a shame, you being the first woman I would have to kill with my own two hands."

Izaya's tone was dark yet playful. Cecilia couldn't figure out if he was serious or just joking around. But who would joke about his family that way? From the other hand, she knew this camouflage quite well herself. You don't want to be sound serious and give to your enemy the space to talk back to you such like making fun of your opinions, yet you want him to think that you are dead crazy to joke about things like that.

"Plus my sisters are stronger than this. You told them that they didn't kill anyone right? Then that means that they only got attacked and managed to escape successfully. Nothing more and nothing less. So they will be fine. Trust me on this one. Humans tend to use lots of mechanisms to deal with awful events in their lives. Lies so convenient as to alternate the reality is one of them." He added and stopped walking having his back towards her. "This is where we split. I am thankful for your hospitality and I am looking forward to our conversation. I have a list of questions you know."

The girl also stopped a few steps away from him. She smiled warmly and nodded.

"Yep. Whenever you feel ready." she answered confidently. He only smirked and left running. A few seconds later a flying vending machine landed exactly where he was standing, stunning Cecilia.

"IIIIZZZAAAAYYYYAAAAAA!" Shizuo's angry voice was heard, not a few meters away and soon a blond hot bartender came running towards the direction the raven had just run off.

"Oh, my." Cecilia giggled relieved that at least something hadn't changed. She only hoped that her life would go back as it used to be the last months. Quiet, with friends and happiness.

* * *

 **December 30**

Izaya was in deep thought as to what he was going to do from now and then. He wanted to start the experiment officially as it had good results previously but he didn't know if he should speak or not to Cecilia about it. Until now she didn't know about it and the results were incredible, so telling her will may cause lots of problems. It won't be natural, but did he really need something natural? What he wanted was something specific. He wanted to see the results on him. So _he_ had to be natural, not Cecilia. If he wanted to see the results on her then she would need to be natural. Maybe if she knew his goal she would be a better help. She would be able to plan beforehand, without him knowing. With her being unpredictable and her on the wheel the results would be even better. Maybe this would be better. Maybe he had to tell her.

"Yosh…"

Now he had to find a way to do it right. He had to be careful with his every move. But to do that he had to know how he felt so he could pass it to the girl correctly. The only one who seemed to understand what was going on was Shinra. So he needed his advice. But he felt like something was missing. Like he was missing something really important. What could that be?

"Oh! Izaya! Welcome! Don't tell me that you got yourself stabbed again." Shinra exclaimed surprised to see Izaya so soon at his door.

"No no… I need to talk to you… about Cecilia…" Izaya said shyly and waited patiently for the doctor to invite him inside.

"Oh, this sounds serious. Yes, yes, come in!"

Shinra let his friend come in and closing the door behind him, he followed him to the living room. Celty was not home cause of work, and that made Izaya a little more comfortable to speak. Shinra placed two cups of tea on the table.

"So?"

"Well… I thought about your suggestion to speak to Cecilia about my experiment. If she knew about it, then she would be able to plan ahead and surprise me. After all the plan is me getting all these experiences, not her. But I need to find a way to do it right… so I need your advice here..."

Shinra smiled widely, thanking God for giving Izaya the light to think right for the first time in ages, and clapped his hands.

"Take her on a date!" he announced enthusiastically.

"A date?" Izaya asked confused. "Why?"

"Eh? Because… you know! You will ask something really important so you need to get to her good side. If you are serious about it, you need to have a serious approach too."

"I see… But I have ever been on a date before… I don't know what to do." Izaya throw unexpectedly making Shirna froze.

"HOW CAN YOU NOT KNOW HOW TO TAKE A GIRL TO A DATE? You have been watching humans your whole life! Haven't you ever seen anyone go on a date!?"

Izaya didn't flinch and with a straight face, he answered, "I am not interested in the romantic relationships of humans. I am good with the words to make someone fall for me because I know what to say, but I never felt anything in particular. I find love irrational and boring. Also, a date is something between people who are in love. Me and Cecilia are not in love."

"Is there a small possibility of you two ever…?" Shinra asked just to make sure.

"No."

"Are you sure?"

"At least from my side. I don't know from her side."

"You have to clear this up beforehand. You don't want any misunderstandings between you too." Shinra hinted.

"I will keep that in mind."

"Now back to the date… Well, it's not like it has to be a " _ **date**_ ". You can simply ask her to go for a walk or somewhere nice… What does she like?" Shinra felt like he was indeed preparing Izaya for a date.

"She said she likes fireworks and she seemed interested in the fireworks during the New Year-"

"THAT'S IT! There! Take her there!" Shinra exclaimed enthusiastically.

"O-ok…"

Silence.

"I have to admit that even though I have thought about this case thoroughly I just feel like I miss something… I feel like I haven't thought of something..."

Shinra placed his pointer under his chin trying to think what could possibly be missing. Izaya did the same and a few minutes later Shinra found out what was that.

"You are afraid of being the puppet." The doctor announced like he was ready to give his diagnosis.

Izaya looked at him intrigued waiting for him to continue.

"This experiment will have you completely exposed. You will have no control over your emotions or your actions because your actions will be results of your emotional instability. And keep in mind that she is a manipulator herself, you will be playing the part of the human and she will be playing the part of 'Orihara Izaya' "

Orihara's eyes widened into the realization of what Shinra's words meant. "I will be completely in her mercy…" He whispered in shock. " That's it! That is what was missing! I always played with others behind their backs. I have never been in this place before… letting others play with me! I have never been played before! This experiment will make me the victim and her the leader if she knows what to do! "

Shinra only nodded in agreement as Izaya continued explaining to himself his new findings. "I don't know! I don't know… This is too complicated. I never thought of that. I am divided in two right now… I am excited from one side and I want to tell her because that way she will be more effective than just waiting around for her to do something, but from the other side, I am afraid of the unknown! I am gonna give her the complete control over me if she knows everything. Do you understand Shinra what that means?"

At that moment Shinra realized that he wasn't a good person and from now on he wouldn't be a good friend either. Because he wanted to see it. He wanted to see the master manipulator of humans, Orihara Izaya, being the puppet of another manipulator, who according to Saya was one of hell good manipulator. He wanted to see his friend suffer like the people he made suffer. He never thought of that before, but it seems that deep inside he had this hidden desire. The desire to see him get a sip of his own poison. Yes, he realized at that moment that he was an awful friend. And he wasn't regretting it.

"I do know what it means, but isn't that what you actually want?"

"What do you mean by that?" "People are always exposed to unpredictable situations and that is what test them! You should do that too! Let yourself be tested! Until now you were preparing the tests for humans. So let someone else prepare the test for you."

Izaya was still unsure of this so Shinra decided to push it some more.

"Do you trust her first of all? Is she going to betray you?"

"I… I think that I can trust her… maybe..."

"See? So don't mind!" The doctor started. "I bet that if you share with her your concerns about it you will be fine! Just think about it that way! You are the female virgin on the bed and you are afraid of what is going on next. The only thing that you have to do is you to trust your male partner and see where _he_ will take it. But you love and trust him with your life so you should not be afraid of that, right?"

Izaya stared at him, ready to throw up. Now he could understand how the poor female virgins were feeling. He felt relieved that he never had to be the one who would make them women. He was so relieved. Yet Shirna didn't stop there. The underground doctor was enjoying himself so much that he was throwing examples one after the other making Izaya be scared for life. He stopped talking when he received a chop on his head.

"Aouch! Ah! Celty! Welcome back!"

[What are you saying to him? He is ready to cry!] Celty typed annoyed.

"Ah, nothing!"

"You…" Izaya groaned.

"Ah, Izaya! You must also take into account that Cecilia is not a human."

"And?" Izaya's head was too foggy to see the problem.

"That means that you will have no idea how she will be acting and what kind of tests she will give you. You have been monitoring humans and the human behavior all your life after all! That means that even if you know how a human will react and the trust issues they have, you don't know about monsters and how they act." The underground doctor finished by posing jubilantly.

Izaya considered everything, the wrong way. He felt helpless and like his life was over. He felt like he would be a puppet for the rest of his life. That he would never ever be free to enjoy what he had built until now. That had only one result. His eyes widened, rolled back and he passed out cold. Celty was left speechless and Shinra started to laugh uncontrollably.

[What, what just happened? Is he dead? What is going on?]

"No, he is only shocked. He will be fine, let him be for now, and I will explain everything to you in a few moments." Shinra said and shined her a smile. The Dullahan only shook her helmet and left the information broker on the couch unconscious.

[For your information, monsters are not that different from humans when it comes to trust!]

"I know that… he doesn't." Shinra giggled evilly. Celty sat next to her fiance waiting for him to tell her everything. After the explanations, Celty felt zero pity towards the raven. She felt like karma was getting him back for the asshole that he was.

A few hours later Izaya came back to life once again. He looked around him only to realize that the sun was gone and that he was still at Shinra's. His head was still foggy though.

"Oh! You are awake!" Shirna announced.

Izaya only glared at him, still heavy from his slumber.

"You passed out cause of a shock," Shinra informed him kindly. He was enjoying himself and Izaya knew it. "Ah… now I remember… you are an awful friend you know?"

"I am, but I don't regret it. Here is some tea."

Izaya sat more properly and took the cup into his hands, but didn't dare to drink. He was trying to recall his conversation with Shinra before. Everything started to come back to his mind and horror started to take over once again. But this time he would not lose it. He would sit and think about it carefully.

"You said that Cecilia is not human so I won't know what she will do… That will have as a result me being at her mercy and in a worse situation than with a human..."

"I was joking. I just wanted to see you in despair. You didn't disappoint me. But continuing our previous conversation. What is more important here is her experience."

"Her being a professional manipulator?" Izaya questioned.

"Yes."

Izaya took a deep breath and let his back touch the back of the couch. Shinra was right. Cecilia being a pro herself. Well her name was 'Manipulator' to begin with, so she must have a name back in her city. Plus he could tell that she was a fearsome person to have as an enemy. That cause of the fear Alex, Shou, and Dragon had towards her. For them to come all the way out here and want to kill her that badly must have been fear along with personal business. He also knew a few things about Yogsai from Saya. For someone to survive there was a real struggle. One wrong move and you were as good as dead. So for Cecilia to manage to survive and make a name of herself meant that she wasn't just a nobody but in the top of the food chain of that city.

"She is terrifying… This is true. But..." He started unsure of his goal. Shinra bends forward interested to hear the rest. "… I am not scared of her..." He stared at Shinra with the most truthful expression he had even given to anyone. No, he wasn't scared. He wasn't feeling any kind of threat. Even if he had panicked previously to the point of passing out, now that he was calm. "Actually I am relieved that she is going to be the one." He felt like he could trust Cecilia. This woman was there for him and she never tried to play him dirty not even once. She was honest. He could trust an honest mon-

"Ne, isn't it weird?" Izaya asked cutting his train of thoughts.

"What?"

"The fact that I chose a monster for this? Or the fact that I am trusting a monster? Or the fact that I am trusting something that I don't know anything about?"

"What you know about Cecilia are enough for you to continue?"

"Yes."

'That was fast!' "Then there is no need for you to worry about something else. But you can always learn more about the person you are going to open your heart to."

Izaya smirked at the idea. It seems like he had to get used to it if the experiment was to come true. He had to get used to the nakedness of his heart and soul. Maybe he can use this opportunity to learn more about her in particular.

"I can't wait for it! And I have the perfect plan for our potential 'date'."

* * *

 **December 31**

Cecilia returned home from her job exhausted. She threw her bag away and climbed the stairs. She was planning on going to see those fireworks herself as the twins suggested. That was one in a lifetime experience and she wouldn't be losing it.

She took a long and relaxing bath, dry her hair, dressed really warm because outside was freezing and she sat to do her make up. When she was ready to go she heard her doorbell. Curiously opened the door, always on check for any potential threat, but she didn't expect to see that person in front of her.

A tall, raven-haired man, with brown to red eyes, charming smile, long legs and a black heavy jacket was staring at her worryingly. Well, the worry left and was replaced with an 'aw' as soon as he took a better look. The girl blinked shocked at the hot guy who just popped at the front of her house.

"Hello handsome!" she said with a huge smile on her face. If it wasn't for the fireworks, she would have him in her bed asap. You just don't let men like that walk away, even after he passed the first test-drive with flying colors.

"Hey! I was calling you." He said with a little complaint.

Cecilia raised her left eyebrow amused. "Oh, I am sorry but I was upstairs honey. I didn't hear it. But why are you here? Is something wrong? You came all the way here after all..." She was pushing him to speak without letting him room for excuses.

"Ah, I was just passing by and I came to check on you." He lied.

"Oh~. How kind of you. Well as you can see I am fine."

"I can see _that._ " He put more emphasis to 'that'. She was all dressed up and beautiful. He was amazed.

"Nice. Now… um… you better go because I have to leave too." If he didn't want to tell her why he was there, well, too bad. Right?

"Oh, wait. I came for one more reason."

'Bingo!' She thought victoriously. "Oh, you did?" He chuckled realizing that she drove him all the way to this point. "I came to pick you up and take you to a wedding."

"A wedding?"

"Yep." He put out two white folders with gold letters on them. She took one and opened it curiously.

"To the lucky guest..." she read. "What is the meaning of this?"

"Remember the wedding of the daughter of that high-class Japanese man? Well, he decided to have 100 lucky citizens go to the wedding of his daughter. And these are two of those 100 invitations."

"I am not gonna ask how you got your hands on them. But are they real?"

"Yes."

"So they won't throw us out?"

"Nope."

"I see. Well, it seems like I have to change clothes…" she stuck her tongue out. "But I happen to not have this kind of clothes with me here…" That was awkward. All her clothes were left back in Yogsai. She was still crying for them.

"I see… well, I happen to know a place..."

"You do? And it's open today?" She almost jumped on him. She loved shopping clothes for her job.

"Well, we can always ask." He shuttered surprised.

"Let me get my purse then." She said and hurried back inside.

A few moments later they found themselves on the street walking towards the station to take the train for the center of Tokyo. They waited for a few minutes and entered. Surprisingly the car was empty.

"Wow! Why is it empty? New Year's is around the corner! Everyone should have been outside celebrating." Cecilia commented as she wandered around the empty moving car. "I believe cause of the cold," Izaya answered while following her with his eyes.

She continued to walk around the car until she jumped on one of the polls of the train and started to climb it. Izaya raised his eyebrows impressed.

"I don't want to sound rude, but do you know how to pole dance?"

"Yep! Wanna see my moves?" She asked with a mischievous smile. Izaya stumbled and just nodded. She got down and took her phone out. She let a song play, took off her jacket and gloves and held the pole with her left arm. She kept her shoulders back, her head up and started to walk around the pole like a supermodel. After one turn, she stopped to a place where Izaya could see her body clearly and rolled her body engaging her entire upper and lower body to create a wave effect. Her body wave was slow and gave Izaya the time to enjoy every bit of her carves. He knew that she was doing it on purpose, yet the only thing he could do was to sit and enjoy. She moved behind the pole and locked her right leg, letting her body spin around the pole, extending her back and neck, eyes locked with Izaya's when she stopped right before him. She smiled and raised slowly, first her belly, following her chest, neck, and head. She took one more walk around the pole and proceed to grab it with both hands, into a split grip, lifted her legs into the air bending them at the knees behind her, letting her body spin around the pole. Because of her clothing, she couldn't do moves that needed her legs as a support on the pole, so she went with those who only needed her hands. After her carousel spin, she stepped down, replace her grip and pushed her body up, making her place her self upside down, with her legs wide open above her. Izaya's eyes widened in amazement as he didn't expect her to be at that level of pole dancing. But what took his breath away was her letting go and letting her body fall and stop only centimeters away from the floor. He thought that she really slipped. He felt his heart beating like crazy and a euphoria overtaking him, when she stepped down, dragging her upper body to raise once again. She spun around her self, dropped down to a split and posed in a playful way to mark the end of her show.

That last split sent Izaya to another world but he did manage to clap slowly as she pretended to bow happily in front of a huge crowd.

"Thank you! Thank you!" She giggled and ran to wear her jacket again.

She sat next to Izaya and waited for his opinion.

"So? What do you think?" She asked curiously and anxious about his opinion. Of course, she had in her mind that he may be disgusted by the fact that she knew how to pole dance and think of her being a whore, so she was ready for that kind of response too.

" May I ask where did you learn this?" He was feeling uncomfortable but he tried his best to look natural.

"Ah! Well, I used to work at a club! I started as a waitress, then I became an exotic dancer, aka a pole dancer and then I went to the bar." She may be smiled while she gave her answer but she was afraid. Afraid of his reaction. She had said it before. She wanted him in her life. He was making her life a little more interesting. She was considering him a friend. So her, speaking so lightly about things like that was dangerous. Here was Ikebukuro, not Yogsai-City. In Yogsai-City, at the part where she was living, it was a normal thing for someone to be a host or a dancer at clubs. Ikebukuro was in Tokyo and not one of the red districts. In Tokyo people can have normal jobs so choosing the kind of work-life she chose back in her city, was a part of a desperate situation giving you a bad name as a reward. So now what if he thinks that she is a whore or someone not worth his time. Did she say that she was prepared for any kind of response? Yes, she had been in that situation in the past. Not worth it.

"I see." He only answered and she felt something breaking inside her. She looked at him, almost in tears and started to move him back and forth.

"I see? Only that? Don't you feel anything? Weird? Disgusted? Something?"

Izaya stared down at her confused. He clearly didn't feel any of the things she said. He was actually feeling weird, but another kind of weird. He got a little excited so right now what he needed was peace and quiet, and having Cecilia right next to him looking so cute and helpless wasn't helping. Shinra said that he would have to open himself, but this was too much. He felt like he dived too deep in his first try and he was drawing. Fast. So he had to do something about it in the future.

"Wh-why would I feel anything like-like that?" He asked trying to sound as comfortable as he could. He wasn't completely dense. He knew some basic things that he bet either human either a monster, the same thing would occur. A man seeing such an attractive woman dancing so seductively cause reactions. A woman seeing a man having an erection either would scream and start hitting him either will ask to have sex with him, if he was her boyfriend. The second thing was a dream every man has, an actual illusion to be exact, so the first is the surest thing to happen. He moved a little further from her to avoid any big scene. She from the other side felt heartbroken. She thought that he was rejecting her.

"You are disgusted right?" She asked painfully. "You even shuttered."

"No… that is not right..."

"Then why are you so far away from me?" She asked again pointing at the long distance between them. Izaya had gone to the other side of the car without noticing.

"That is because…"

"Because?" She was pushing him hard. He had to answer her. She was too damn cute.

"Arg… don't get mad at me!"

"Eh?"

"I… your dance… um..." He pointed down to his private parts with his eyes. His face was all red and he was unable to face the girl. He was proud of him being able to control himself and his sexual urges, and this was one of the most humiliating moments in his life. But he was a man and a man has to take it like a man. Cecilia followed his eyes and a few seconds later she understood what he meant. She brought her hands to cover her face and Izaya braced himself. The only thing he heard though, was her laugh.

"Oh my god. I am terribly sorry! Hahahaha… I didn't mean to cause you such a reaction. I didn't expect you to be so sensitive. But again I am hot! It was a given!"

"I am not sensitive! I just got off guard! I didn't expect you to be so experienced! That is all!" He desperately tried to save the little pride it was left.

"Oh! Well! Don't worry about it! You can take your time! Don't mind me!" She smiled at him happily. She was actually thankful for that being the reason for his actions. She was really thankful. She was that thankful that even if he was to take her to a dumpster she would be still smiling.

And she kept smiling until they arrived at the center of Tokyo. Izaya had managed to calm down, made Cecilia promise to forget about it and now they were ready to go. Izaya led the way to the store and Cecilia locked their arms like an elderly couple.

"So, how come you want to go to the wedding?" Cecilia started the conversation.

"Well, I thought that it would be a good thing to do to take our minds from the whole situation from Dragon. Staying home is not healthy."

Cecilia thought that this was a way of them relaxing and talking about what had accrued the previous days.

"That is a very thoughtful thing to do... I am so happy to have a friend like you. But maybe you also want to talk about things. But it's fine by me either way." She said dreamy and rested her head on his shoulder, bringing her body closer to his. He didn't answer, only smirked and kept leading the way in silence. They enjoyed each other's company better in silence. They indeed needed some peace and quiet. The last days were stressful.

Cecilia wanted to spend some time with a friend but his scent was too addictive to let him go so she chose to enjoy it instead. Izaya was trying to think when would be the perfect timing for him to talk to her about his experiment. Should he first wait until they talk about the elephant in the room or beforehand?

He looked down at her on his side. She had hugged his arm completely and she was closer than before. He didn't mind it. Anything that this girl was doing to him, he didn't mind at all. What she was doing was one more justification for his decision to have her be the mastermind of his experiment. But the irony was huge from his part. He was playing with humans all along and none of them managed to do a simple thing as causing him this much distress or even an erection in public. He felt betrayed by his humans failing like that. After all those years of him being faithful to them, maybe it was time for him to turn his looks towards someone else.

A few minutes later they stopped in front of an old store which wasn't in use for years, judging from its front. The raven looked around when he spotted a somehow newer part of the very old door and he knocked it three times. A few seconds later a female voice was heard asking for the password. Izaya gave the password and the door opened letting both of them enter.

They found themselves in a chamber with a female right in front of them. The girl was a cute black haired girl, dressed in traditional Japanese clothes. Unfortunately, cause of the low light the colors and the decoration of her clothes couldn't be seen, something that disappointed Cecilia greatly. She loved traditional Japanese clothes.

"Oh, my! Orihara-san! Long time no see! What can we do for you today?" The girl jumped happily towards the man, scaring Cecilia away.

"We would like to attend a high-class wedding. Do you have anything to show us?" His voice was smooth and charming. A perfect gentleman, Cecilia thought, or rather the perfect bait.

"For you anything! Follow me!" The girl took the lamp that was lightening the chamber and led the way to a more lighten room full of clothes, shoes, hats, jackets, jewelry and more. It was like heaven. Cecilia let her stare wonder around without listening to the rest of the conversation between Izaya and the young girl. She looked with her mouth half open from the amazement. It was the first time she had ever seen a store so big. In Yogsai-City she would avoid stores with too many consumers, which was limiting her options greatly. She would have to borrow clothes if not able to ask from a modiste to make clothes specifically for her. Which was a little too expensive. Yet she wouldn't let a chance for shopping go away. Never!

"So we have long dresses, princes like dresses, short, sexy, slutty, more sophisticated ones... What do you have in mind?"

"Hm… Lia? What do you prefer? Lia?" Izaya called the siren who was still daydreaming. "Lia~"

"Eh? Did you say something?"

"Hisako-san from here will take you to choose a dress for tonight."

"Oh! Thank you very much!" Cecilia hurried and bowed respectfully to the young girl. Hisako just smiled at her and asked her to follow her.

"Orihara-san, my brother will take you for your clothes," Hisako added as she disappeared with Cecilia away.

She took her to the other part of the room and started to show her dresses one after the other. Cecilia was feeling like she was in a dream and she was begging God to not wake her up. Her excitement became even bigger when she heard that she could try them on, so she started to try one by one the ones that caught her eye. She was quick, cause of her previous lifestyle, and she would go in and out in seconds, check her self in the mirror, grab another dress and repeat.

"Ne, do you operate this shop in daylight? Or is it underground?" She asked while checking the 15th dress in the mirror.

"Underground. Here I dress anyone for anything. You can find anything." Hisako answered with a warm smile.

"Nice… do you mind having me as one of your clients? I am an information broker as Iza-chan, but I tend to lure men instead, so my wardrobe is very important. Unfortunately and all my clothes are destroyed. So I would like to have a new wardrobe."

"I would be glad to have you."

Cecilia spanned around herself one last time and grabbed the next dress. On her way out she kept making more questions.

"Say… how did you meet with Iza-chan?" She called intentionally Izaya with a nickname, so she could show to the female that she had a close relationship with Izaya, so it would be easier for her to speak about him.

"Are you two in a relationship?" The girl asked carefully. Cecilia smirked victoriously.

"Something like this. We work together lately and so we hang out a lot. His stories from his previous clients are amazing and interesting! So I was interested in listening to yours as well!" She stacked her tongue out and went to change again.

"Ah… Mr. Orihara helped us greatly to get my brother out of jail. It was a miracle that we fell on him. My brother was innocent but we couldn't prove it! Mr. Orihara's information saved us. We are extremely thankful to him. But we were poor and we couldn't pay for his services so instead, we exchanged services. He would get my brother out and I would provide him with clothes whenever he wants to."

"I see. You got yourself a good deal there because he is not the person who will go for shopping often."

"Ahaha that is true." Hisako agreed and helped Cecilia fix the new dress she was trying on.

A few dresses later she found the one she liked the most. A long dark blue dress, with a side opening and with long sleeves and neck from dark blue tulle.

"Oh! This is so good on you! Let us find some shoes, coat, jewelry, and makeup!" Hisako cried relieved that her client finally found a dress and dragged her to the other side of the store. They found a long black and warm cloak, along with black gloves, and black pantyhose. They chose some silver jewelry such as a long necklace, bracelet, and earrings, and they proceed to makeup and hair.

In the meantime, Izaya had found a black smoking, black shoes, long black coat, a white shirt for the inside, heavy cologne and was now sitting with Hisako's brother talking about his life after prison. To be honest, he wasn't really interested, but he had to kill some time until Cecilia was ready.

It was 10 o'clock when he saw Cecilia with Hisako following her. His jaw dropped. She was looking stunning. He couldn't describe it, but she was something that he would like to look at the rest of the night. Just that. Just staring at her. It was crazy.

"So? What do you think?" She asked him as she spanned to show off her clothes.

"You have a very good **ahem** taste." Izaya tried to keep his cool.

"Thank you…?" She was puzzled at him. His comment was a weird one. Even Hisako looked at him surprised by his response. He looked around him and felt the silent judgment Hisako and her brother were giving him. Cecilia was confused. He then understood that this statement was weird so he attempted to it embarrassed.

"I mean, you look amazing! They suit you well."

"Oh! Thank you! You are handsome yourself!" Cecilia smiled and winked at him happily. He only blushed a little and turned to Hisako who was approving his sayings.

"So…um… Send our clothes to my house, as usual. Shall we go? We will be late."

"E? What about the payment?" Cecilia panicked.

"Don't worry! It's on us tonight!" Hisako explained.

"Eh? Are you sure?"

"Yes! Please have fun!"

And with that, they said their goodbyes and proceed to walk to the church. Cecilia hanged on Izaya's arm once more. Izaya realized that the warmness he was feeling during their previous walk was something that he missed. The warmth and care he was receiving from the girl was something that he missed. Just until now he had experienced a bunch of emotions, he wondered what else he could experience… what else he was missing or ignoring his whole life. What else his humans were unable to make him experience. But why he was unable to experience this kind of emotions? What were their humans lacking? What is his fault? Their fault? He couldn't decide.

He looked up to the sky, like asking from God to give him an answer, but he wasn't believing in God, so no answer from him. He smiled to himself and kept walking lightheaded.

"Ne Lia-chan? Now that we are going to a wedding, let me ask you! Do you believe in real love?"

This was a theme reliable to the night after all and it would be a good chit chat to kill time. He wished he could see her expression because she was taking her time to answer.

"I do believe in true love. I believe that everyone will find someone to love them at some point in their lives… regardless. The problem is, once you find it, you will need to keep it too. I have seen people believing that just because they are each other's true love they can act however they want, but it doesn't go like that. This way you destroy your relationship..."

She grabbed Izaya's arm a little harder than before. Izaya felt her tension. He immediately regretted his question. It occurred to him that he never regretted his sayings, but now he did. He actually felt bad for making her react like that.

They were still walking, and she was still uncomfortable. She didn't expect a question like this to throw her off like that. Maybe love was a theme that wasn't still standing well for her. She had mix feelings about real love. She knew that everyone would find real love, but she also knew that she would never find that love herself. She had committed too many sins for her to be accepted by a normal person. Not only that… she doesn't regret any of them… and even if she ever regretted something, she doesn't remember it anymore… And that is something that a normal person would never accept. If she was remorseful there was a chance… people tend to believe in second chances, ironically… She is fine with whatever she did and now she wants a different life, but if she has to go back to her old persona she would. She definitely would. So she knew that even if she was ever to find her true love, that love wouldn't accept her. Thus she wouldn't be able to keep him even by default. Love is strong, but not strong enough to make people surpass their limits and be ok with this for a long time.

She let go of Izaya's arm and continued to walk along with him. Izaya looked at her back puzzled. He didn't know what to do. She was obviously upset. He started to become nervous. He was feeling guilty because he knew that it was his question who made her uncomfortable. This guilt was new to him. He was feeling bad and now he was trying to find a way to fix it. He started to panic when Cecilia spoke again.

"Um… Where are we? I am sorry, I got into my thoughts…"

Izaya looked at her like he just surfaced from the deep sea and was able to breathe for the first time. He couldn't focus his thoughts to speak properly. Hell, he couldn't understand what she was talking about.

"Izaya? Is everything ok? You are pale!" She hurried to his side, cupped his cheeks and brought his forehead closer to touch with hers, so she could check his temperature. Izaya was caught off guard and froze. "No, you are fine."

Izaya managed to comprehend the situation and gave her a reassuring smile. He looked around him and noticed that they were into a dark alley. 'Perfect place to bring a girl. Well done, me!' he thought and took her hands in his. He was a little disappointed that she was wearing gloves because he couldn't feel her warmth. He wanted to feel her warm hands on his cold skin. He wanted to feel that care she was giving him. He wanted everything from her. He moved their hands between them, smiled at her and place a kiss on her forehead. She blushed but didn't take her eyes from his.

"Everything is perfect! Shall we run to the church? We will be late!"

She nodded smiling and Izaya took her from her hand to drag her out of the alley to one of the main streets of Tokyo. He was excited. Excited to talk to her about his experiment. Excited that he chose her from all people. Excited that she smiled back at him. That smile filled him with warmness and happiness and the guilty feeling he had, was now long gone. His reactions towards her were amazing and unbelievably realistic. He knew that this experiment would be one of a kind. Only if she says yes.

"I wonder if there is going to be any kind of drama!" Cecilia asked while they were running towards the church. Izaya gave her a questionable look. "I mean, what if someone walks into the church and asks for the wedding to stop and then either the bride either the groom run away!"

Izaya chuckled to her wild imagination. "I like the way you are thinking! So now we will have to see it ourselves!" he announced with a cheeky smile as he opened wide his arms to present the church behind him.

The Church was tall, white with a huge cross at the edge of her roof and a huge gold bell under the cross. People from all over Japan had gathered outside the church just to see the bride and the groom. The invitations were for the reception after the wedding. Also, only the relatives of the two who were getting married were allowed inside the church so the rest of the guests were outside, in the cold, waiting for them to finish.

Izaya and Cecilia managed to stand somewhere, close at the red carpet in front of the door of the church and all the way to a white limo. They waited there for at least an hour. During this hour they were talking about the guest around them and were guessing what was their jobs, lives or characteristics. Izaya thought that this way Cecilia would take her mind away from the "love discussion" they previously had.

"That girl in pink." Izaya pointed.

"Hm… she is a simple common girl, who loves fairy tails and this one is like it got out of one. She is not well economically, judging of the dress. It's old-fashioned. Plus she has little makeup on for her age. She must be at least in high school. She doesn't have a boyfriend and she waits for her prince charming…. Now you. This dude with the blue tie."

"He is in college. His hairstyle screams ' I am a fuck boy'. He likes to drink and he has zero ideas of how to treat a lady. His girlfriend must have a lot of side chicks to go after. I pity her. He came here only to get a girlfriend for the week."

"Week?"

"He doesn't seem like a guy who a girl would stay for more than a week."

"That is correct."

"I am amazed. You know so much about humans." Izaya praised his date.

"Back in my hometown, I used to sit at a place and watch people fight. When you are fighting you are getting angry and want to expose the other party. So guess what kind of info I was getting. Good times."

Suddenly the doors of the church opened wide and everyone looked there waiting for the new couple to appear. The moment they put their foot outside the church cheers and cried filled the air. Flowers, rice, stuff animals started to fly towards the couple as they were passing in front of the crowd waving at their fans. Cecilia had glued her eyes to the dress of the bride. It was white, long with flowers sewed at hand, tule, bows, and a long tail following. She noticed how happy the couple was and how tough was the lock of their hands between them. They say that the stronger the bond the stronger the wedding. She was happy for them. She was happy for anyone who was making their dreams come true. She was happy for anyone was happy himself.

"They are so happy," she commented when they got into the limo. Izaya didn't say anything. He was considering the whole thing a stupidity, to begin with, but he didn't say anything just to keep her mood happy. He did saddened her previously that night.

 _ **Ladies and gentlemen! Those who have invitations for the wedding's reception please step into the limos that will follow, to take you to the wedding revenue. For the rest. Thank you very much for your attendance. I wish you a happy new year!"**_

A male voice was heard and Izaya with Cecilia proceed to step into one of the luxurious limos, which were waiting for them, to take them to the revenue.

"Time to eat something… I am starving…" Cecilia complained when the car started."Do you think that they will have an 'all you can eat' buffet?"

Izaya chuckled with her simplicity. This night would be a long one. He could feel it and be excited about it. What else could he possibly experience?

* * *

 **And that was it, everybody!**

 **I hope that it had some flaffyness!**

 **But the new year's adventures will continue to the next chapter too! ;)**

 **Fav, Follow and review! ^_^**

 **See ya Next chapter! ^_^**


	12. Author's Note - Important

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**

 **SUPER** **IMPORTANT**

Hello everyone! I am terribly sorry but this is not a new chapter.

Before I start I would like to thank everyone for their alerts and for reading my story.

 _Now about the story..._

I am currently editing the whole thing from the begging because I realized that it doesn't really make sense, especially at the beginning.

The way I have portrayed Cecilia is somehow fucked up and you can't really get why she acts how she acts and what the fuck is wrong with her.

Hell even from the dialogues you cant get shit and how they escalate.

So I am editing the dialogues, the scenes, her behavior to make more sense, the atmosphere and maybe I will add a few more scenes between Cecilia and Izaya that will give more info and explanations about their relationship. To make it more smooth.

The big events will stay as they are, like Cecilia saving the robber, then helping Izaya, saving him again, working for him and Dragon.

Her motivations now will be clearer and better explained along with Izaya's.

I am sorry for being late, and I hope that you will enjoy the new edits.

When I will upload the new chapter the editing will be over.

*This note will be deleted when the new chapter will be uploaded*

 **Thank you again for your support and patience! Have a beautiful day!**


End file.
